Pakistani forces shoot dead 4 militants in Punjab
Pakistani security forces have shot dead at least four militants during a raid on a militant hideout in a central district of Punjab province.
Chaudhry Mohammad Saleem , an official with the country's counter-terrorism department, said on Monday that the militants were killed when police returned fire during the security operation in Khanewal.
The official added that three other militants managed to escape.
Saleem said a large amount of ammunition, such as hand grenades, assault rifles and a cache of explosives were seized in the raid.
Sources said the militants belonged to Jamat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out numerous deadly attacks across Pakistan over the past few months.
The faction has also expressed support for the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which is active mainly in Iraq and Syria.
The latest raid was part of an intelligence operation launched jointly by the Pakistani police and military in urban areas of the country.
In recent months, Pakistani security forces have targeted militants who had fled military offensives in lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border, which has long served as a safe haven for local and foreign militants.
In a separate development, a roadside bombing wounded four Pakistani paramilitary troops in Mastung district of the southwestern province of Balochistan. Abdul Nabi, a local police official said injuries were caused after a roadside bomb struck the troops' vehicle. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed extremist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
An attack by Daesh in Mastung on Friday killed 28 people. Daesh said it had targeted a Pakistani lawmaker seen as close to the Taliban.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.
Iran condemns terrorist attack at railway station in Pakistan's Quetta
‘Poetic genius’: Allama Iqbal Lahori in the words of Ayatollah Khamenei
Two dozen killed in blast at railway station in Pakistan's Quetta
Hezbollah attacks Israeli military bases in Tel Aviv, Haifa
Hezbollah strikes multiple Israeli targets in fresh retaliatory operations
VIDEO | New Zealand: Maori MPs protest in parliament with Haka war dance
Pezeshkian: World has come to believe Iran seeks peace, security
Houthi: US bombs inflame, escalate wars of extermination in West Asia
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
UN report says Israel’s methods in Gaza align with ‘genocide’
Attempts to dehumanize Hamas resistance movement doomed to fail
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
