Eleven Militants Killed in Separate Mashkel and South Waziristan Operations

Pakistani security forces killed eleven militants in two separate operations reported on October 3, six in Balochistan's Mashkel area and five in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to security sources.

The Mashkel operation

In the Gorinder area of Mashkel, Balochistan, militants described as belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan, the state's term for Baloch separatist groups it alleges receive Indian backing, opened fire on a security check post and then tried to flee, security sources told Radio Pakistan. Security forces killed all six. The state broadcaster said the action was part of Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-3.

The South Waziristan operation

Five more militants were killed in South Waziristan, according to security sources cited by Syria's state news agency SANA, which reported both operations together. SANA said the operations destroyed militant hideouts and seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition, without breaking the seizures down by location. Neither report named the group the South Waziristan militants belonged to.

Part of a longer-running pattern

The Mashkel operation falls under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-3, the same framework named in the Sherani and Kachhi operations we covered on October 1. The toll adds to a year of frequent state-reported militant deaths in Balochistan and KP, including the 71 killed in a 96-hour operation reported in September and the hostage-rescue operation covered in our report from Kalat.

Casualty figures in both operations come from security sources and could not be independently verified.

Build Better Pakistan's Security Desk tracks counter-militancy operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the state reports them.