QUETTA: At least four militants were killed and nine persons, including two law enforcers, were injured when armed militants attacked a village in southwestern Pakistan, provincial officials said on Monday, fearing that casualties could rise as clashes continued between the two sides.
The attack took place on Sunday evening in Killi Babri, a mountainous village in the Hanna Urrak valley located about 30 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta.
Last week, villagers had protested against threats and the growing presence of militants in the area, blocking the area’s roads leading to the valley. Authorities had assured them of undertaking security arrangements in the village.
Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said on Monday afternoon that the four people killed during the skirmishes were militants and that clashes between security forces and militants were still going on in the area.
“We have received information that four terrorists were killed during an exchange of firing with the security forces,” Langove said at a press conference in Quetta.
“Two soldiers of Anti-Terrorists Force (ATF) were injured in the clashes,” he said. “The terrorists have kidnapped seven local villagers but a search operation is still going on to recover them and clear the area.”
Balochistan Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar, who is also an elected legislator from the valley, said a group of “terrorists” attacked the villagers on Sunday evening after the government had assured them of joint security measures.
“The villagers were already on alert following threats by the terrorists, but the number of casualties might rise as some villagers are still missing,” Kakar told Arab News.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but another official told Arab News that militants affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, carried out the attack.
“These terrorists came down from the nearby mountains last week but were pushed back by the villagers,” the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. “They came again on Sunday evening and targeted the villagers.”
The Balochistan government announced it was establishing a joint security check post at Killi Babri.
“In order to strengthen security, ensure a prompt response to any imminent threat and enhance coordinated security arrangements in the area, the government has decided to establish a joint check point,” the Balochistan Home Department said in a statement.
Residents of Hanna Urrak valley blocked a key highway in Quetta leading to the valley over the clashes, demanding action against militants threatening the villagers.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land mass yet its most backward by almost all economic and social indicators. It has been the site of a low-lying insurgency for decades, with the TTP and ethnic Baloch militant outfits frequently attacking law enforcers and citizens.
The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani law enforcers since 2007 in a bid to impose their strict version of Islamic law across the country.
