ISLAMABAD, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 37 militants were killed and 7 security personnel injured in eight separate overnight operations and clashes with security forces in Pakistan on Friday, local media and officials said.
The crackdown was launched, following a deadly attack on a Sufi shrine in Sehwan town of the country's south Sindh province which left 72 people killed and over 200 others injured, according to official figures.
Spokesperson of paramilitary troops Rangers said that a convoy of about 25 rangers personnel was attacked Friday in Kathore area of the country's southern port city of Karachi.
The militants ambushed the convoy of Rangers who were on their way back to Karachi after completing rescue operation in Sehwan shrine, located some 284 km from the port city, the spokesperson said.
He added that three Rangers personnel were injured in firing by the militants and the forces gunned down seven terrorists in retaliatory attack.
In a separate incident in Manghopeer area of Karachi, 11 militants were killed when rangers conducted a search operation by acting on an intelligence tip-off regarding presence of suspected militants.
Rangers said that they recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the hideout of the suspected militants who were affiliated with a proscribed organization.
In a separate incident in capital city Quetta of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, two militants were killed and two security personnel injured in a clash, police said.
The criminal investigation department of the country's east Punjab province killed two militants during a raid in Sargodha district.
At least six militants were killed in the country's northwest tribal area of Orakzai Agency in the wee hours of Friday morning, police said.
The terrorists attempted to attack two check posts of security forces, but six were killed in the retaliatory attack and others fled the scene.
No causality was reported on the forces' side.
The Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistani army, said in a statement that two security personnels were injured in a cross border attack by Afghan Taliban in the country's northwest tribal area of Khyber Agency.
The ISPR added that the forces foiled the attack and killed several militants in retaliation.
In the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, nine militants were killed in three separate attacks in Banu, Peshawar and D.I. Khan districts, police said.
Four militants were killed in clash with security forces in Banu, three were gunned down during a search operation in provincial capital of Peshawar and two others were shot down by police in D.I. Khan.
