KARACHI: Ten terrorists were killed in a gun battle triggered by an intelligence-driven operation in a remote southern district of Balochistan, military’s media wing, the ISPR, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The intelligence-based operation (IBO) was conducted by the security forces in the Gwargo area of Awaran district, the ISPR said.
The raid was conducted based on information about the presence of terrorists responsible for an earlier deadly attack on the security forces in the area, it added.
“These terrorists were also involved in a firing incident on security forces which resulted in [the] martyrdom of Lance Naik Iqbal on December 20 in Awaran,” the military said.
Lance Naik Iqbal was hit during a search and clearance operation in the Jatt Bazaar area near Awaran which was conducted on the basis of intelligence about the presence of terrorists and their facilitators in the area.
The raid triggered a gunfight between the security forces and the terrorists holed up in their hideout in the area. “Lance Naik Muhammad Iqbal was injured and immediately evacuated to Karachi where the brave soldier embraced Shahadat due to excessive bleeding,” the ISPR said at the time. The entire Jatt Bazaar area was cleansed of terrorists.
Awaran is the home district of Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, the head of Baloch Liberation Front, one of the several outlawed terrorist groups that have unleashed a bloody campaign in the resource-rich province.
Mohammad Iqbal got wounded during a search operation in Awaran in firing by terrorists. He was taken to the Combined Military Hospital in Karachi, but could not survive.
The funeral prayers for the martyred soldier were held at Government High School in Kot Addu and later at his native village. A large number of civil and military officers attended the funeral prayers.
