Security forces nab 14 'Afghan Taliban'

FC troops kill suspected militant in Kalat gunfight

QUETTA:

Up to 14 suspects were nabbed on Thursday for their alleged links with the Afghan Taliban and a huge cache of weapons was recovered from them in the provincial capital.

Sources told The Express Tribune that based on some intelligence reports, security forces conducted an operation in the Pushtunabad suburb of Balochistan’s capital and arrested 14 suspects believed to be associated with the Afghan Taliban, as well as seized a huge cache of weapons from them.



The arrested men were then shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation and further investigations, added the sources.

'Militant' gunned down

The paramilitary Frontier Corps on Thursday claimed they killed a militant during a gunfight in the town of Kalat.

A spokesperson for the FC said paramilitary officials, intelligence agents and personnel of law enforcement agencies launched a search operation against banned organisations in the town.

During the operation, an exchange of fire broke out between the FC troops and some suspects, which resulted in an alleged militant being shot dead.

Paramilitary officials also confiscated the weapons found on his person, added the spokesperson. He said the ‘militant’ was involved in several subversive activities in Kalat and the surrounding areas.

A day earlier, six militants, including a commander of the defunct Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), were killed during a targeted operation in Sangan village of the province’s Sibi district.

“Aslam Acho, alias Meerak Baloch, second-in-command of the BLA, is among six killed during the raid conducted by the security forces,” Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar had told the media. “Aslam was also a spokesperson for the proscribed outfit.”

Two security personnel, constables Muhammad Hassan and Mubashir Ali, were also killed during the raid against the militants, added the spokesperson. “The deceased were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital Quetta in a helicopter.”



Kakar said the slain leader had direct links with Baloch separatist leader Harbiyar Marri and was wanted in 24 cases, adding that he had a head money of Rs6 million. “[Aslam] was involved in attacks on security forces, targeted killings of innocent people and blowing up of railway tracks.”

The spokesperson said the ‘militant’ was an Afghan national and worked for the Balochistan Mines and Mineral Development.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2016.