Pakistani paramilitary forces have killed at least four militants and detained some others during a security operation in the southern port city of Karachi, security sources say.
A senior security official said on Saturday that the operation was carried out in the city’s impoverished neighborhood of Golimar, where paramilitary forces known as Rangers launched a targeted operation on an intelligence tip-off.
Rangers’ spokesman Major Sibtain Rizvi confirmed that at least four members of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were killed during the raid.
“The criminals opened indiscriminate fire on the Rangers, prompting the force to fire back which killed four notorious BLA terrorists,” Rizvi said.
The top official added that at least six militants were also arrested during the operation.
Security forces reportedly managed to seize a large amount of arms and ammunition from the militants.
According to Pakistani intelligence officials, the militants were involved in subversive activities, including targeted bombings and killings across the country.
The development came three days after the massacre of nearly 50 Ismaili Shia Muslims in the port city. The attack was claimed by the pro-Taliban Jundullah terrorists, which had previously allied itself to the Takfiri ISIL group.
Pro-Taliban militants and some Baloch militant groups have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani army.
The BLA mainly operates in resource-rich Balochistan, the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces.
Baloch militant groups say they want greater political autonomy and a share of the province’s natural resources.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called war on terror. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.
JR/HJL/HMV