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The statement described the killed militants as members of “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a term the Pakistani government uses for the outlawed separatist Baloch Liberation Army and other groups operating in Balochistan demanding independence and that it alleges are supported by India. New Delhi has previously denied accusations that it sponsors militancy in Pakistan.

Security forces recovered six trucks, three buses and two cars, along with weapons, ammunition and explosives. No casualties among security forces or abductees were reported. The military said troops were searching the surrounding area for any remaining militants.

The latest operation came just over a week after Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ruled out negotiations with insurgents and said security operations would continue until militancy was eliminated from the province.

for ransom after establishing illegal checkpoints. Last month, they killed 18 police officers after abducting them. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for the operation and said counterterrorism operations would continue and vowed to eliminate what he called foreign-sponsored terrorism.

Balochistan has been the in southwestern Pakistan with an array of separatist groups, including the BLA, demanding independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad. The groups have staged attacks mainly targeting security forces and people from Punjab who travel to Balochistan for business or employment.

Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence in the province has persisted.

Meanwhile, six security personnel were killed in a shootout with militants in Hangu in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, the military said. Troops returned fire and killed eight militants, according to a military statement.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence in recent years, with many attacks blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. It is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Pakistan often accuses Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders, a charge Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies.