At least 18 soldiers of Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC) have died during an operation in Mangocher, a city located in the Kalat district of Balochistan province, the country's military authorities confirmed on Saturday.
"On the night of January 31/February 1, terrorists attempted to establish roadblocks in Manocher, Kalat District of Balochistan. Security forces and law enforcement agencies were immediately mobilised, who successfully thwarted the evil design and killed 12 of them, ensuring security and protection of local populace," read a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military.
However, the statement added, 18 soldiers were also killed during the operation.
ISPR stated that the security personnel are currently clearing the entire area, assuring that "facilitators and abettors" of the "heinous and cowardly act" will be brought to justice.
The latest incident comes less than 24 hours after the security forces killed 10 terrorists in five different intelligence-based counter terrorism operations in different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and separatist groups of Balochistan, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), are getting continuous support from Afghanistan. The Shehbhaz Sharif government has also called on the Afghan Taliban regime to take strong and immediate action against the anti-Pakistan groups operating from the Afghan soil.
Islamabad insists that terror groups in Balochistan aim to disrupt peace in the region by targetting innocent civilians.
"Security forces of Pakistan remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the ISPR statement added.
Pakistan has witnessed a major surge in terror attacks targetting security forces and foreign nationals, mainly in Balochistan and KP provinces, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
2024 was one of the deadliest years for the country with at least 685 security personnel killed in 444 terror attacks.
As per statistics compiled by the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies (CRSS), there were at least 1,612 casualties of civilians and security personnel combined in 2024 while 934 outlaws were eliminated.
The combined casualties during 2024 have been the highest in the past decade, averaging to seven people losing their lives every day.
KP and Balochistan have been the worst hit by terror attacks last year with at least 1,601 casualties in KP and at 782 in Balochistan in 1,166 terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations.
The series of major terror attacks continue in 2025, posing a serious challenge to the Pakistani security forces and its ongoing operations.
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