PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in an exchange of fire with the military in a northwestern tribal district bordering Afghanistan, the army said on Thursday.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, which comes after Pakistan declared a new offensive against militants following a resurgence of attacks, including a mosque bombing that killed more than 100 people in February.
Islamabad says the militants, who want to establish a hard-line version of Islamic law in Pakistan, enjoy safe haven in Afghanistan to plan and execute the attacks, a charge Kabul denies.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, is arriving in Islamabad on Friday for meetings with his Pakistani and Chinese counterparts.
“A fire exchange took place between terrorists and our own troops,” the army said in a statement describing the incident in North Waziristan, which has long been a hotbed of militants who operate on both sides of the border.
Three “terrorists” were also killed when the army engaged them, it said, adding that it was searching the area to determine if any more attackers were in hiding.
The incident came within a week of attacks by militants, including an assault by a suicide bomber who drove into a military base camp just outside Pakistan’s rugged, lawless tribal district, killing three soldiers.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several Sunni militant groups, has been behind the attacks against the state, which have become more frequent since last year after it revoked a cease-fire and peace talks with the government in Islamabad collapsed.
The government says the peace talks allowed the release from prison of hundreds of the militants and their leaders, enabling them to regroup and launch fresh attacks.
Militants in Pakistan kill six soldiers near Afghan border
https://arab.news/v89ce
Militants in Pakistan kill six soldiers near Afghan border
- No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the bloodshed
- "A fire exchange took place between terrorists and our own troops," the army said in a statement describing the incident in North Waziristan
’American? No!’ says Greenland after latest Trump threat
NUUK: Greenland’s political parties said they did not want to be under Washington as US President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory, raising concern worldwide.
The statement late Friday came after Trump repeated that Washington was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”
European capitals have been scrambling to come up with a coordinated response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action.
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders,” the leaders of five parties in Greenland’s parliament said in a joint statement.
“The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders,” they added.
“No other country can meddle in this. We must decide our country’s future ourselves — without pressure to make a hasty decision, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries.”
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview published Saturday that Trump’s “blackmail must stop.”
But he also said he did not believe a US military intervention would happen.
“Greenland is a European territory, placed under the protection of NATO. I would add that the Europeans have very powerful means to defend their interests,” he said.
Fears of invasion
According to a poll published Saturday by Danish agency Ritzau, more than 38 percent of Danes think the United States will launch an invasion of Greenland under the Trump administration.
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
Many Greenlanders remain cautious about making this a reality.
Julius Nielsen, a 48-year-old fisherman in the capital Nuuk, told AFP: “American? No! We were a colony for so many years. We’re not ready to be a colony again, to be colonized.”
“I really like the idea of us being independent, but I think we should wait. Not for now. Not today,” Pitsi Mari, who works in telecoms, told AFP.
“I feel like the United States’ interference disrupts all relationships and trust” between Denmark and Greenland, said Inaluk Pedersen, a 21-year-old shop assistant.
The coalition currently in power is not in favor of a hasty independence.
The only opposition party, Naleraq, which won 24.5 percent of the vote in the 2025 legislative elections, wants to cut ties as quickly as possible but it is also a signatory of the joint declaration.
“It’s time for us to start preparing for the independence we have fought for over so many years,” said MP Juno Berthelsen in a Facebook post.
Vast natural resources
Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump’s threats on Greenland, a strategic island between North America and the Arctic where the United States has had a military base since World War II.
Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.
“We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That’s what they’re going to do if we don’t,” the US president said Friday.
“So we’re going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way,” he added.
Both Russia and China have increased military activity in the region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.
Greenland has also attracted international attention in recent years for its vast natural resources including rare earth minerals and estimates that it could possess huge oil and gas reserves.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end “everything,” meaning the transatlantic NATO defense pact and the post-World War II security structure.
Flurry of diplomacy
“I’m a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they’ve been very nice to me,” Trump said.
“But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark’s foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.
A flurry of diplomacy is under way as Europeans try to head off a crisis while at the same time avoiding the wrath of Trump, who is nearing the end of his first year back in power.
Trump had offered to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first presidential term but was rebuffed.
