Turbat raid: 3 suspected militants killed in firefight

Raid in Dera Murad Jamali yields huge cache of arms and explosives.

QUETTA:

At least three people were killed on Wednesday in a firefight between suspected militants and paramilitary troops in Gebon area, approximately 20 kilometres from Turbat city.

Acting on a tip-off, a Makran Scouts party raided the house of one Rasool Bakhsh, who was allegedly involved in making remote-controlled bombs and hand grenades, Murtaza Baig, the spokesperson for Frontier Corps (FC), told The Express Tribune. 

“As soon as the raiding party approached the house, suspected militants opened fire on them,” Baig said, adding that in the retaliatory fire, three of the assailants were killed on the spot and another two were taken into custody.

The dead – later identified as Rasool Bakhsh, Hakim Shahsawar and Maula Bakhsh – were shifted to the main hospital in Turbat. The names of the detained suspects have not been released by the paramilitary force. Separately, FC troops recovered a huge cache of weapons and explosives from the Piro Pull area of Dera Murad Jamali district.

According to the FC spokesperson, the haul included fivekilogrammes of explosives, a sub-machine gun, 91 rounds and a remote-controlled bomb. Two suspects were taken into custody, while two managed to escape.

Maj Gen Ubaidullah Khan Khattak, the inspector general of Frontier Corps, praised his troops for the timely action and said that his force would continue its efforts to eradicate crimes from Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2012.