Separate raids: 24 suspected militants arrested in Quetta, Sibi

19 Afghan refugees detained for travelling without legal documents

QUETTA: Frontier Corps (FC) and police claimed they arrested at least 24 suspected members of a banned outfit in separate raids in Quetta and Sibi on Thursday. Most of them were arrested from areas in and around the provincial capital, according to officials.

At least 13 suspected militants were arrested in an early morning FC raid in the Kechi Baig area on the outskirts of Quetta, an FC official said. Another eight were arrested in separate raids in the Sariyab, Killi Geo, Satellite Town and Hazar Ganji areas of the provincial capital, he added.

According to the official, the suspects were said to be involved in targeted killings and other terrorist activities. A huge quantity of sophisticated arms and ammunition was recovered from their custody, he said.

The weapons recovered in the raids included 20 light machine guns and a rocket launcher with six rounds, an FC spokesman said. He added that the suspects arrested had been moved to an undisclosed location for questioning.

Three more suspected terrorists were arrested in a joint FC-police raid in Sibi, an FC spokesman said. According to him, the operation was carried out based on intelligence reports regarding the presence of a terrorist organisation in the area.

Meanwhile, FC officials arrested 19 Afghan refugees who were travelling without legal documents, in the Bara Bacha area of Chaghai district on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2015.