QUETTA: A commander of the Baloch Liberation Army, a designated terrorist group in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, was among four terrorists killed in a police counterterrorism raid in Karachi, authorities said Tuesday.
The operation was carried out on February 17 by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh police in Karachi’s Shah Latif Town area, where officers confronted terrorists during a targeted raid, according to intelligence officials.
Police said the raid was launched based on intelligence gathered during the interrogation of previously arrested terrorists believed to have links with armed groups operating in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan.
During the operation, security forces set up a blockade and began searching the area when armed terrorists opened fire, triggering a gun battle. Four terrorists were killed in the exchange, officails said.
Authorities later identified one of the dead as Suhail Baloch, also known as “Gurk”, whom they described as a commander in the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
BLA, the group has claimed responsibility for attacks on security forces, infrastructure projects, and civilians, and is designated as a terrorist organisation by Pakistan and several other countries.
According to security officials, Suhail Baloch joined the group in 2022 and has been active as a field commander. Officials said that he was involved in planning and coordinating several attacks targeting security personnel and government installations.
Officials added he was also responsible for providing weapons and logistical support to fighters linked to the group and had played a role in planning multiple attacks in recent years.
Among the incidents attributed to him was a sniper attack on a government officer in Khuzdar, a district in Balochistan, in which a security official was killed.
Investigators also linked him to attacks on security checkpoints and operations that resulted in casualties among both security personnel and civilians.
Security officials further stated that he had connections to the planning of an attack on the Jaffer Express, a passenger train service in Pakistan, claiming he helped facilitate the operation through militant networks.
Authorities said the group associated with him had been involved in attacks that resulted in the deaths of around 50 people, including members of the security forces and civilians.
The CTD said weapons and other materials were recovered from the site following the raid. The identities of the other three men killed in the operation were not immediately confirmed.
Officials said the operation may have prevented a planned attack in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub.
Investigations into the raid are continuing as authorities attempt to determine the identities and possible affiliations of the remaining suspects killed in the operation.
