QUETTA: Hafiz Mukhtar, the mastermind of the Quetta Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters attack, was killed in Kandahar after unidentified assailants opened fire on him, security sources confirmed on Saturday.
According to officials, Hafiz Mukhtar served as a key commander of the militant outfit Fitna al-Khawarij. He was considered a close associate of senior Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders, Muhajir and Mukhlis Amir, and was involved in multiple terrorist operations.
Security sources described his death as a major setback for the TTP’s leadership, particularly at a time when the Taliban government in Afghanistan is facing mounting pressure to act against militant groups operating from its soil.
On Septemer 30, a group of terrorists, including a suicide bomber, associated with Fitna al Khawarij, targeted the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Quetta on Tuesday, martyring at least three people.
According to security sources, the assault began when a Suzuki pickup with explosives rammed into the compound entrance. Moments later, five militants of the Indian proxy, disguised in FC uniforms, attempted to storm the facility. Security forces immediately engaged them, killing all of the attackers before they could enter.
Two FC personnel sustained injuries in the exchange of fire. Authorities said the militants belonged to Fitna al-Khwarij, a proxy network backed by India.
Next day, security forces conducted targeted operation and killed killed 18 terrorists linked to India-backed proxy Fitna al Khawarij in two different operations.
The frist operation, conducted on the outskirts of Quetta Ghazaband area, came a day after militants from the group Fitna al-Khawarij attacked a Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in the provincial capital. Security forces say 10 terrorists of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, known as Fitna al Khwarij, were killed in the operation.
