ATF, police round up five suspected militants

QUETTA: Five suspected members of a proscribed outfit were rounded up by the Anti-Terrorism force (ATF) and police on Friday following two different operations. Separately, a law enforcing agency also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in Loralai district.

According to police sources, the ATF and police launched a search operation on the basis of a tipoff in Sariab area of the provincial capital and arrested three people while also recovering weapons from their possession. The arrested persons later confessed to their involvement in targeted killings.

Later, the police, acting on the information provided by the suspects, arrested two more militants from the city’s Satellite Town area. The police also recovered weapons and police uniforms. “All these five people belong to the banned Jaishul Islam,” a security source said, adding that the militants were shifted to an unknown place for further interrogation.

Arms seized in Loralai

Frontier Corps (FC) and intelligence personnel also recovered heavy weapons and bombs during a raid at militants’ hideouts in Balochistan’s Loralai district on Friday morning.

According to the FC spokesperson, thirteen rocket launchers, one anti-taank mine, ten anti-personnel mines, eleven fuses, 19 detonators, several LMG rounds, two binoculars and solar panels were recovered during raids from militant dens in Khost and adjoining areas in Loralai district.

However, no arrest was made during raid as the extremists escaped from the scene before arrival of the security forces.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2015.