RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Security forces carried out a precise and coordinated operation in Afghanistan’s Paktika province overnight, eliminating more than 70 terrorists belonging to the outlawed Gul Bahadur group.
According to security officials, the strikes were based on confirmed intelligence and specifically targeted the group’s hideouts across various parts of Paktika. The operation resulted in the deaths of several senior commanders and members of the militant network responsible for multiple cross-border attacks.
Among those killed were key commanders identified as Farman alias Al-Karama, Siddiqullah Dawar, Ghazi Madakhel, Muqarrab, and Qismatullah. Officials confirmed that other senior figures – Gulab alias Deewana, Rahmani, Adil, and Fazl-ur-Rehman – were also neutralised in the strikes. Fazl-ur-Rehman was reportedly a close relative of the group’s ringleader, Gul Bahadur.
Intelligence sources revealed that the action was conducted following credible reports of the militants’ presence and operational planning within Paktika. The precision strikes, described by officials as “highly effective”, inflicted heavy losses on the network, severely disrupting its cross-border operations.
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The Gul Bahadur group has been linked to several major terrorist attacks in Pakistan. On the same day as the Paktika operation, the group carried out a failed vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack in Khadi, North Waziristan, which claimed the lives of three women, two children, and one soldier.
Security officials stated that the militants involved in cross-border terrorism had been entering Pakistan from Afghanistan to execute such attacks, with the group playing a central role in recent incidents.
Among the other militants eliminated were Ashiqullah alias Kausar and Younas, both identified as senior lieutenants within the organisation. Officials described the elimination of these high-value targets as a significant success, crippling a network long associated with attacks on security personnel and civilians inside Pakistan.