Pakistani security forces killed seven alleged militants and wounded several others during an intelligence-based operation in Kharan district, Balochistan, according to security sources cited by state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
The operation took place in the Lajay area under a campaign authorities call Radd-ul-Fitna-3. Security sources said personnel moved against hideouts after receiving information about militants in the area. No independent account of the operation or casualty assessment was included in the initial report.
The sources described those killed as members of “Fitna al-Khawarij,” the Pakistani state's designation for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. This identification is an official attribution. The report did not name the seven people or describe how their identities or affiliations were established.
Authorities said forces recovered modern weapons, a large amount of ammunition, other military equipment, two vehicles and a motorcycle. They also said the hideouts were destroyed. The same sources accused the group of involvement in looting, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, targeted killings and planning suicide attacks in Kharan and Lajay. Those accusations were not accompanied by case details in the supplied report.
President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces and called the destruction of the hideouts and recovery of arms an important achievement. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended the personnel and said intelligence-based operations would continue. Their statements reflected the government's position and did not add independent evidence about the encounter.
The Kharan action formed part of a series of operations reported across Balochistan during August. Security sources said five militants, including a commander identified as Wazir, son of Jamal, were killed in Panjgur in another action. They also reported 15 militants killed in operations across eight districts on August 9, while the military said 12 were killed in Washuk and Mastung on August 6.
Those figures came from Pakistani authorities and were not independently verified in the reporting. They nevertheless show the scale of the campaign the government says it is conducting across the province.
For the Kharan incident, the evidence supports the official toll of seven alleged militants killed, the Lajay location and the reported seizure of materiel. It does not establish the wounded count, the identities of those killed, or whether security personnel or civilians suffered casualties. No such losses were disclosed in the source account. Security sources also said the action followed intelligence about militants at the hideouts and placed it explicitly within Radd-ul-Fitna-3. The source offered no response from the TTP to the government's attribution or accusations. The hideouts were also reported destroyed.
