On 12th July, 15 people, including nine soldiers, were killed in a militant attack on a garrison in southwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border. Earlier, it was reported that four soldiers were killed while five soldiers were admitted to the hospital in critical condition. They succumbed to death due to the injuries. A total of five militants were also killed in the attack.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the militants launched the attack in the early hours of Wednesday, following which four soldiers were martyred and five others were injured.
Reports suggest that a group of heavily armed militants attacked the garrison in the Zhob and Sui areas of southwestern Balochistan province. Dawn News quoted Deputy Commissioner Zhob Azeem Kkar saying that a civilian woman was also killed in the attack as she got caught in the crossfire. Another five civilians were injured in the attack.
Five militants in the group attacked the garrison in the Zhob districts located at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The attack took place in the early hours of 12th July. Pakistan Military’s statement read, “Soldiers checked the initial attempt of terrorists to sneak into the facility on duty.” During the exchange of fire between the soldiers and the militants, the attackers was contained in a small area and got killed.
Dawn reported that Balochistan CM Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the attack on the Zhob garrison. Similarly, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also issued a statement condemning the attack. Despite claims of a crackdown on terror infrastructure fearing Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) greylisting, terror attacks have only seen an uptick in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Reportedly, a little-known militant group, Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The militant group issued a statement taking responsibility for the attack on Pakistan’s Army base in the Balochistan Northern area.
In its statement, TJP claimed that it would release pictures and videos of its fighters who took part in the attack.
Three soldiers were killed in Sui
In another attack, three soldiers and two militants were killed in the Baluchistan district of Sui near Pakistan’s main natural gas pipelines. Reports suggest that it was unclear who was behind the attack. Local officials said they had initiated an operation to arrest the militants who managed to flee the scene after the shootout.
Incidences of terror attacks in the recent past
Earlier this month, the police and Levies checkposts in the Dhana Sar area of Balochistan’s Sherani subdistrict were attacked by some terrorists. Around four security personnel were killed in the terror attack. A Pakistani think tank Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, released a report earlier this month. In its report, the think tank highlighted that terror and suicide attacks have increased alarmingly in Pakistan. In these attacks, around 389 people have lost their lives across the country.
A report in Dawn, further added that in June, a police official was killed, and two more were injured in a suicide attack on a police van in Balochistan’s Turbat. Similarly, in another attack in June, two soldiers were killed when the security checkpost in the Kech district along the Pakistan-Iran border was under attack. In June, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addressed a press conference. In the PC, he said that the security forces conducted 13,619 intelligence operations this year. In these operations, around 1,172 terrorists were killed or arrested. He said, “On a daily basis, over 77 operations are being carried out by armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, and other law enforcement agencies to rid of the menace of terrorism.” He also added that around 95 soldiers have been killed in these operations.
