10 terrorists neutralised in Zhob

Security Forces killed 10 more terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Zhob district, said the military's media wing on Thursday.

In a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), it said that after an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Zhob on February 24, in which eight Indian-sponsored terrorists were killed, security forces carried out a comprehensive sanitization operation on Wednesday to pursue "hiding khwarij" of Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij.

Fitna al Khwarij is an alias that has been assigned by the state to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

"During the course of the operation, our forces were able to track down Khwarij on various routes and successfully engaged their positions. After a subsequent exchange of fire, ten Indian-sponsored khwarij were dispatched to hell," said the statement.

The statement further added that weapons, ammunition, and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who were actively involved in various terrorist activities in the area.

Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorists present in the area," it said.

According to eyewitnesses, 10 to 12 armed men dressed in a specific uniform stormed the mosque during taraweeh prayers and created a hostage-like situation for worshippers.

The attackers carried out the operation in an organised manner, forcibly taking the three brothers with them before fleeing to an unknown location.

The abducted individuals were identified as Saeed Akhtar, a clerk at the commissioner's office, and his brothers Amjad and Hazratullah, both posted in the Wazir Sub-Division Police.

Police officials confirmed that the bodies of the two serving policemen were later recovered from the roadside along Marwat Canal Road. They had been brutally killed and their bodies dumped at the scene.