Two terrorists killed in Balochistan's Kech

 Two terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in the Mazaband Range region of Kech district in Pakistan's Balochistan, Dawn reported citing Pakistan's military media wing.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in the statement said that the operation was carried out on August 10-11. The ISPR said that two terrorists were killed and another terrorist was injured. It further said that a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered, according to Dawn.

The ISPR further said that the slain terrorists were involved in targeting innocent civilians and law enforcement agencies. Earlier in July, the Pakistan army's 12 soldiers were killed in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui regions of Balochistan.

It was the military's highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported in 2023. Prior to this, 10 security personnel were killed in a ‘fire raid’ in Balochistan’s Kech district in February 2022, Dawn reported.

Pakistan has been witnessing a rise in terror activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan after the ceasefire between Pakistan's government and the outlawed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (TTP) ended in November last year.

A report released in July said that Pakistan has been witnessing a steady rise in suicide attacks. Pakistan in the first seven months of 2023 experienced 18 suicide attacks, claiming the lives of 200 people and injuring more than 450 others, Pakistan-based Dawn reported citing a think tank report.

The number of suicide attacks has exceeded the total number of suicide attacks recorded during 2022, which stood at 15. Think tank Pak­is­tan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) has revealed the findings in the report.

Tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have been the most severely impacted region in Pakistan, Dawn reported citing the report. The attacks in tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for half of the total suicide attacks in 2023.

Around 60 people were killed and more than 150 others were injured in nine attacks in the area. However, so far this year, the recent attack that targeted Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) workers' convention in Bajaur on July 30 has been the deadliest in the tribal belt, as per the Dawn report.

Four suicide attacks took place in 'Mainland' Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which claimed the lives of more than 110 people and left 245 injured. Among these attacks, the Peshawar Police Line attack stood out as the deadliest in the country, claiming the lives of more than 100 people, according to the report. At least four suicide attacks took place in Balochistan within the first seven months of 2023.

As many as 14 people were killed and 27 others were injured in these attacks. Furthermore, one suicide attack took place in Sindh, resulting in the death of five people and injuring 18 others. As many as 63 people were killed and nearly 200 others were injured in the suicide bombing at a Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on July 30.