Operation Ghazi
2017 military offensive by the Pakistani Taliban
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Ghazi was a joint military offensive by the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups including Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.[4]
| Operation Ghazi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the war on terror | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Islamic Republic of Pakistan United States | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 100+ militants killed[1] | 16 police officers killed,18+ injured[2][3] | ||||||
The offensive began with a suicide bombing at the Mall in Lahore in which 12 civilians and six police officers were killed.[2]
Announcement
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar In the video, stated that its future targets would be legislative bodies Pakistan Army, intelligence agencies and supporting institutions; interest-based economic institutions; INGOs/NGOs and civil society organizations involved in the advocacy of human rights, women's rights and community awareness campaigns; liberal writers, political leaders and workers; media persons; and coeducational private schools, colleges and universities.[4]
Operation Radd ul Fasaad
On 22 February 2017, in response to the Operation Ghazi, Pakistan Army launched Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (lit. "Elimination of Discord") across the country.[5]
The operation aimed at indiscriminately eliminating residual threat of terrorism and consolidating gains of operations made so far. It further aimed at ensuring security of the borders. The countrywide de-westernization and explosive control were laid as the additional objectives of the operation.[6]
Timeline
2017
February 2017
- On 13 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place on the Mall in Lahore, where a group of chemists and pharmaceutical personnel were demonstrating at the Charing Cross.[2]
- The same day, 2 officers of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) were killed and 12 others were injured, when a bomb BDS personnel were trying to defuse went off. The bomb was placed near Karachi Stop on Saryab road, Quetta.[7][8][9]
- On 15 February 2017, two attacks occurred in Ghalanai and Peshawar. In the first attack in Ghalanai, a suicide bomber killed three policemen and two civilians near an administrative building in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. An accomplice was shot and killed. A second suicide bomber failed to cause any casualties when his suicide vest detonated prematurely.[3]
- In the Peshawar bombing, a vehicle carrying local judges and government officials was targeted by suicide bombers. The driver and a civilian were killed and five others were injured.[3]
- On 16 February, the Punjab Police's Counter Terrorism Department raided a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar hideout in Multan and killed 6 militants, who had resisted the operation with firing and explosives.[10]
- On 21 February 2017, suicide bombers targeted a sessions court in Tangi, Charsadda District. Seven persons were killed and 21 were injured.[11]
March 2017
- On 5 March 2017, Pakistani military confirmed that 10 militants were killed and five soldiers lost their lives in attacks that took place in Mohmand Agency.[12]
- On 17 March 2017, al-Jazeera reported that Jamaat-ur-Ahrar militants attacked a Pakistani military border post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Afghanistan, killing two Pakistani soldiers. Six militants were also killed. Also that day a military operation in Rajgal Valley killed "several" LeI fighters, according to the Pakistani military media wing. Pakistan's military said it had foiled an attempted suicide attack on a paramilitary training centre in Shabqadar, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, two suicide bombers and a soldier were killed in the attempted attack, while another soldier was wounded.[13]
- On 31 March 2017, at least 22 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a blast outside a mosque in north-west Pakistan. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack.[14]