Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the source articles linked below — on this story, all of them from one outlet — and extracts what that outlet reported, claim by claim. How this works →

3 more terrorists killed in Mastung IBO, taking tally to 13

Security forces have killed three more terrorists in an ongoing intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Mastung district, bringing the total to 13 under Operation Al-Azm, according to state media. The operation was launched after an attack on a passenger coach earlier this week. Officials have also reported the destruction of hideouts and recovery of weapons and bomb-making materials.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 24–25, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Security forces have killed three more terrorists in an ongoing intelligence-based operation in the Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district, bringing the total number of militants killed under Operation Al-Azm to 13, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday, citing security sources.

The operation was launched after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach coming from Quetta on Wednesday claimed three lives and injured five others. Security forces have been conducting search and clearance operations in the area under the operation, which has been dubbed Operation Al-Azm.

Coverage

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the development in a statement commending the security forces, state-run APP reported. Radio Pakistan, quoting security sources, said that "Fitna al-Hindustan has suffered further losses" in the operation. The government uses the term "Fitna al-Hindustan" to refer to Balochistan-based groups, highlighting what it says is India's role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

The latest killings follow a separate report on Friday that said security forces had killed four terrorists during an operation in the same Khad Kocha area. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terroristsable, and several others suspected of involvement in facilitating terrorism were apprehended. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also commended the security forces over the operation, state-run PTV News reported, saying they had foiled the "nefarious designs" of the terrorists.

The reports differ on the number of terrorists killed in the Khad Kocha operation. Friday's report said four terrorists were killed, while Saturday's report said three, raising the cumulative total under Operation Al-Azm to 13. It was not immediately clear whether the two reports referred to separate incidents or if one of the figures was a revision.

Key Claims

Security forces killed three terrorists in Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district, according to Radio Pakistan on Saturday.
A separate report on Friday said four terrorists were killed in a similar operation in the same area.
Operation Al-Azm was launched after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach from Quetta on Wednesday, which killed three people and injured five.
The total death toll under Operation Al-Azm has reached 13, according to Radio Pakistan and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's statement.
Several hideouts belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan were destroyed, and weapons, ammunition, and materials for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered, security sources said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi commended the professionalism of security forces in their counterterrorism efforts, state-run APP reported.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also commended the security forces over the operation, according to state-run PTV News.

Perspectives

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi: Commended the security forces for their professionalism and said operations would continue until terrorism is eliminated from Balochistan. He also said that the alleged alliance between Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan could not destroy peace in the country.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti: Praised the security forces for foiling the "nefarious designs" of the terrorists.
Security forces (via Radio Pakistan): Reported that the operation is ongoing, with hideouts destroyed and weaponry recovered, and that the "number of terrorists killed" stands at 13.

Context

The government uses the term "Fitna al-Hindustan" for Balochistan-based groups to highlight what it describes as India's alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The term "Fitna al-Khawarij" is used for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

A monthly security assessment by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) reported a 109% increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan, according to a report cited in one of the news articles. The assessment highlighted the growing security challenges in the province.

How this outlet told it

Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC

Framing: Security operation in Balochistan — Neutral

Facts Included:

Security forces killed three terrorists in Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district
Operation Al-Azm was launched after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach
13 terrorists have been killed in operations conducted under Operation Al-Azm so far
Several hideouts belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan were destroyed
Weapons, ammunition, and materials used for making IEDs were recovered

Read the source article →

Dawn as of Jul 24, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Framing: Security operation in Balochistan — Neutral

Facts Included:

Security forces killed four terrorists during an operation in Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district
Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists
Several others suspected of involvement in facilitating terrorism were apprehended
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti commended the security forces over the operation
A monthly security assessment by PICSS reported a 109pc increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimSecurity forces killed three terrorists in Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimSecurity forces killed four terrorists during an operation in Khad Kocha area of Balochistan's Mastung district.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Dawn as of Jul 24, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimOperation Al-Azm was launched after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
Claim13 terrorists have been killed in operations conducted under Operation Al-Azm so far.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimSeveral hideouts belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan were destroyed.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimWeapons, ammunition, and materials used for making IEDs were recovered.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimBalochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti commended the security forces over the operation.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 24, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimA monthly security assessment by PICSS reported a 109pc increase in terrorist attacks in Balochistan.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 24, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Dawn 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14