Daily Times

A band of suspected Da’ish terrorists is on the run in Quetta after escaping a police raid that killed six other members of the group, officials said on Monday. Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said in a statement they had stormed a hideout in Balochistan capital on Saturday and killed six terrorists, but “around four to five managed to escape”.

A senior police official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that “teams are now raiding different areas to arrest those who escaped”. Among the dead was Asghar Sumalani, a junior commander in the regional chapter of Da’ish-Khorasan. He had a two million rupee ($11,400) bounty on his head.

Officials have long played down the presence of Da’ish-Khorasan in the country. But the group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, including the slaying of 11 miners from the minority Shia Hazara community last year. Some of the miners were beheaded after being kidnapped from a remote coal mine in the mountainous Machh area, 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of Quetta.

Da’ish-Khorasan has deep roots in several provinces in eastern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan. The terrorist group carried out a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in August, killing scores including 13 US service members, as the Taliban retook Afghanistan. Last week, DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar told reporters that “Pakistan Da’ish is not very active”, in response to concerns that the threat from the group is rising.