Security forces have killed 27 militants in an intelligence-based operation in Mastung district, Balochistan, military and security sources said on Sunday. The operation was carried out in two stages, with 15 killed in the first phase and 12 in the second, according to the sources.

The sources said a local commander, Yasir Parkani, was among those killed, along with his associates. They said the operation targeted fighters linked to Fitna al-Khawarij, a term the military uses for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The operation was described as part of continuing counterterrorism efforts under Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad-3.

Troops recovered large quantities of weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices from the militants' hideouts, the sources said. A sanitisation operation was under way in the area to rule out the presence of any remaining fighters, and security sources said the campaign would continue until militancy was eliminated from the province.

The figures have not been independently verified, and no statement from the military's public relations wing was quoted in the reports. Mastung, in central Balochistan, has seen repeated security operations in recent weeks as forces target militant hideouts in the district's rugged terrain. Security sources have said more than 1,100 militants have been killed in Balochistan operations this year.