Three killed in Hanna Urak clashes as operation continues in Quetta outskirts

QUETTA: Three people were killed and at least nine others injured after armed men attacked the Babri area of Hanna Urak on the outskirts of Quetta on Sunday night, triggering clashes with local residents and a subsequent security operation, according to Balochistan government officials.

Officials said local people took positions after the attack and exchanged fire with the assailants. Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said three civilians lost their lives, nine were wounded and at least seven people were abducted by the attackers.

Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar said police, the Frontier Corps and other law enforcement agencies reached the area soon after the assault began and launched a search operation. The provincial authorities later widened the action into what they described as an operation to clear Hanna Urak and nearby localities of suspected militants.

Security operation launched

Government officials said four suspected attackers were killed in the follow-up operation. They also reported injuries among law enforcement personnel during the exchange of fire.

Shahid Rind, the chief minister’s aide on media, said four Anti-Terrorist Force personnel were wounded during the operation against the armed men. Home Minister Langove later said the number of injured law enforcers had risen to at least nine.

Rind said the operation was continuing in Hanna Urak Valley and Babri to remove what he called terrorist elements and protect local residents and their property. He said security had also been tightened at all entry and exit points in the area to block the movement of the alleged attackers.

Attributing the operation’s progress to official briefings, Rind said the suspects had suffered major losses and that security personnel were pursuing them. Both the home minister and the chief minister’s media aide said the attackers were linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Decisions taken at high-level meeting

The operation followed a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, where the Balochistan government approved what it termed an immediate sanitisation operation in Hanna Urak and adjoining areas against alleged terrorists and their facilitators.

The meeting also decided to activate a joint checkpost bringing together all law enforcement agencies to monitor the movement of militants and improve security for residents.

According to officials, the chief minister ordered indiscriminate action against everyone involved in terrorism and said the operation should continue until those responsible were brought to justice.

He also constituted a committee comprising Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove and Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar to hold talks with protesters. In addition, the chief minister directed that assistance be provided to the affected families within two days.