The operations were conducted in Kech, Panjgur, and Zhob in the backdrop of cowardly terrorist activities that targeted innocent civilians in Balochistan on August 26.

Five terrorists were eliminated in the IBOs while three others were injured during the exchange of fire.

Sanitisation operations will continue until all perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of these atrocious acts are brought to justice.

“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan,” the ISPR said.

It is to be noted here that unidentified gunmen massacred 23 passengers from Punjab on an inter-provincial highway in the Musakhail area of Balochistan on Sunday night.

According to police, the gunmen offloaded the passengers from their buses and trucks and then shot them dead in the Rarrah Shim area of Musakhail.

Police said that the accused had also taken 13 passengers with them, adding that all the deceased belonged to different areas of Punjab.

Police also told the media that the gunmen had blocked the highway and set 24 vehicles on fire. They included two cars, six trucks, 10 Mazdas, four pick-up vans and two other vans.

The Frontier Corps (FC) officials and policemen shifted the bodies of the deceased to a local hospital. Police said that they had launched a probe into the gruesome incident.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vehemently condemned the incident.