ISLAMABAD: A day after an Islamic State group (IS) bomber killed nearly 80 pilgrims at Pakistan’s most famous Sufi shrine in Sindh, security forces claimed to have eliminated around 100 militants in a countrywide crackdown.
The suicide blast at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was one of the deadliest ever in Pakistan and came after several other extremist strikes earlier this week despite the army’s ongoing offensive against militants. Following Thursday’s attack on the 13th century shrine, army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa pledged, “Each drop of the nation’s blood shall be avenged, and avenged immediately. No more restraint for anyone.”
The military also launched a search-and-strike operation in Khyber Agency’s Shalman near the Pak-Afghan border, using heavy artillery. Many casualties might have taken place there, security officials said.
