QUETTA, (Raja Furqan Ahmed): At least five terrorists belonging to the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA) were killed and a Pakistan Army soldier was martyred during a recovery operation in the Ziarat area of Balochistan. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), during the ongoing recovery operation in the Ziarat area, on the night between July 14 and 15 (Thursday and Friday) a hideout of terrorists was identified and cleared by the security forces near Khost in Khalifat mountains. Once encircled, the terrorists opened fire on the closing-in Army troops resulting in the Shahadat (martyrdom) of Havildar Khan Muhammad. During a follow-up clearance operation, the ISPR statement said five terrorists belonging to the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) were killed in the ensuing heavy exchange of fire. The sanitization operation, however, will continue in the area to apprehend the remaining perpetrators and recover Mr Omer Javed. On Thursday, Lieutenant Colonel Laiq Baig Mirza, a high-ranking official of the Pakistan Army, was martyred after terrorists abducted and shot him dead. According to the military’s media wing, on the night of July 12/13, a group of 10-12 terrorists abducted Lt Col Laiq Shaheed, who was serving in DHA Quetta, along with his cousin Umer Javed near Warchoom, Ziarat, as they were returning to Quetta after visiting Quaid-e-Azam’s residency. On receipt of information, Army Quick Reaction Forces were immediately dispatched to chase the fleeing terrorists. They were traced moving to their hideouts in the general area of Mangi Dam. Following that, a deliberate search operation was launched by security forces using Special Service Group (SSG) troops and helicopters. Resultantly, on night 13 July, a group of 6-8 terrorists was spotted while moving towards a nullah in nearby mountains by one of the teams of security forces. On sensing their possible encirclement, terrorists shot Lt Col Laiq Shaheed and attempted to flee the site. In the ensuing exchange of fire, two terrorists were gunned down by the security forces, while a huge cache of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), explosives and ammunition have also been recovered from their hideout. However, in the process, the remaining terrorists along with the other abductee, Omer, were able to flee for time being.
