Army They Died Attacked, Pakistan Holds Buru Operations Members Of The Taliban Branch And Bloch Separatist

Pakistan's military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/ISPR)

JAKARTA - The Pakistani army is hunting for members of the country's Taliban branch and Bloch separatists on Monday, after six soldiers were killed in the attack.

The operation came five days after security forces released the detained hostages following a prison breach.

Pakistan is currently fighting against two insurgencies targeting active Bloch separatists in areas where roadside bombings recently killed five soldiers.

Pakistan's Taliban branch, known as Tereek-e-Taliban-Pakistan, has been active since around 2007, often working with its parent organization in Afghanistan across borders. The group became even bolder after the fall of the former Afghan government in August 2021.

Serangan terhadap orang asing, termasuk pekerja dan diplomat China, telah meningkat di Pakistan utara, bersamaan dengan peningkatan serangan terhadap pasukan keamanan.

Last week, 33 people died when the operation was launched to release security officers detained at the center of counterterrorism in northwestern Bannu, Pakistan. Two of the dead were commandos involved in rescue efforts.

Abdul Aziz Uqaili, a top government official in southwestern Blochistan Province, said there were nine attacks on the province on Sunday. No civilians were killed, he tweeted, according to The National News December 26.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the violence.

Earlier, the military said five soldiers, including an army captain, were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near security forces vehicles during a cleaning operation in Kahan, a remote area in Blochistan bordering Afghanistan. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The sixth soldier was killed in a shootout with the Pakistani Taliban in the Sambaza area of Zhob District, said Azfar Mohesar, a senior police official. A militant was also killed in the shootout, he said.

While in the capital of Quetta Province, 12 people were injured when the attacker threw grenades at the market near residential areas, added Mohesar. Elsewhere in Blochistan, five people were injured in attacks in the cities of Kalat, Khuzdar and Hub.