Pakistan’s anti-terrorist police say 11 Islamic State militants were killed in a raid in the southwestern province of Baluchistan
QUETTA, Pakistan – Pakistani counterterrorism units stormed an Islamic State hideout in the southwestern province of Baluchistan earlier in the morning and sparked a shootout that killed 11 militants, police said.
The units, acting by intelligence, carried out the raid in Mastung district, where ISIS militants had recently killed two policemen. Police said suicide belts, hand grenades and assault rifles were confiscated during the raid.
The anti-terrorism department did not provide further details and the nationality of the murdered militants was not immediately known. The anti-terrorist police is a special branch of the police that fights militant groups.
Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province where the IS group has claimed several attacks in recent years. IS has regional subsidiaries in both Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.
Baluchistan is also the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatist groups, which have also targeted non-Baluch workers. However, unlike ISIS, they have no history of attacks on the Shiite minority community.