Security

Pakistani forces kill ISIS mastermind of Mastung bombing

AFP

Security forces and volunteers transport the bodies of those killed in a suicide bombing in Mastung on July 13. [Abdul Ghani Kakar]

Security forces and volunteers transport the bodies of those killed in a suicide bombing in Mastung on July 13. [Abdul Ghani Kakar]

QUETTA -- Pakistani security forces Friday (July 20) killed the mastermind of one of the country's worst ever terrorist attacks in a shootout in Balochistan, officials said.

The forces received a tip on an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) operative hiding in Darenjo village, Qalat District.

"The Frontier Corps (FC) raided the house and killed Hidayat Ullah," Qaisar Khan, a senior administration official in Qalat, told AFP.

Ullah facilitated Hafeez Nawaz, who blew himself up last week in Mastung District and killed at least 149 people, including political candidate Siraj Raisani, a senior FC official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Authorities hope to track down Ullah's "group of [ISIS] operatives ... in different areas of Balochistan", said Mastung District official Qaim Lashari.

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