Eight terrorists killed in a premature explosion while preparing a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Surab district of Balochistan, according to the military’s media wing. The Inter-Services Public Relations confirmed the blast occurred as the militants readied the VBIED, killing eight members of the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Hindustan and injuring several others. The force of the detonation also set off other explosives stored nearby, claiming the lives of three civilians in the area.
Security forces and Balochistan Police quickly reached the site and launched a joint clearance operation to hunt down remaining perpetrators and their facilitators. During this follow-up action, troops detected the movement of fleeing militants and engaged them. In the exchange that followed, ten more terrorists were neutralised. Two soldiers sustained injuries in the firefight.
Sanitisation efforts continue in the surrounding area to locate and eliminate any leftover militants. The ISPR stated that the ongoing counterterrorism campaign under the Azm-e-Istehkam framework, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, will proceed at full pace without interruption.
This incident came just a day after security forces killed five India-backed Fitna al-Hindustan operatives in a high-tempo intelligence-based operation in Panjgur district of the same province. Pakistan has seen a marked rise in terrorist activity, especially across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.
A recent report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies highlighted that these two provinces accounted for nearly 96 percent of all violence-related fatalities in the second quarter of 2026. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the highest share with more than 61 percent of deaths and 151 violent incidents, while Balochistan followed with 34 percent of fatalities and 94 incidents. The concentration of militant activity remains firmly focused on these regions, underscoring the continued security challenges faced by the country.
