Peshawar, Mar 16: At least seven Pakistan Army soldiers, including two officers, were killed when six terrorists launched multiple suicide attacks on a security check post in the restive tribal district of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan on Saturday, the military said.
A Lieutenant Colonel and a Captain were killed along with five soldiers. All the six terrorists who attacked the check post in Mir Ali area were shot dead, the army’s media wing said in a statement.
According to the statement, after the troops foiled the initial attempt of intrusion by unidentified terrorists, they rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the post, followed by multiple suicide bombing attacks.
During the subsequent clearance operation, troops engaged and killed all six terrorists.
However, during the intense exchange of fire, Lieutenant Colonel Syed Kashif Ali and Captain Muhammad Ahmed Badar were killed, the statement said.
The military’s media wing said a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists present in the area. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
However, the dreaded Pakistani Taliban have claimed several such attacks in the past.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, in separate statements, condemned the attack.
Terming the attack a “coward” move by the terrorists, Shehbaz prayed for the departed souls and offered condolences to the bereaved families.
“The security forces have foiled the sinister designs of the terrorists. I, and the whole nation, are proud of the martyrs who sacrificed lives,” he was quoted as saying by the prime minister’s office.
President Zardari condemned the terrorist attack and extended condolences to the bereaved families.
In a post on X, he expressed the nation’s commitment to completely eradicate terrorism and prayed to elevate the rank of martyrs and give patience to their families.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the attack and expressed grief over the death of the soldiers.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Earlier this month 10 militants were killed in two separate operations by security forces in the North Waziristan district.
Last month, a late-night attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan was repulsed. Gunmen had mounted an attack using heavy weapons but fled in the cover of darkness when police personnel fired back.
According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 – marking a record six-year high.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84 per cent of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations. (Agencies)
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