ISLAMABAD: A soldier was killed in an exchange of fire between Pakistani troops and militants in Pakistan’s northwestern South Waziristan District, the military said on Monday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in an area where Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have been known to carry out attacks against security forces.
“Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” the army’s media wing said. “However, during intense exchange of fire, Lance Naik Muhammad Sabir (age 30 years, resident of District Mansehra) having fought gallantly, embraced shahadat [martyrdom].”
“Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area,” the army added.
The TTP seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody, and a reduction in Pakistani military presence in parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province bordering Afghanistan that it has long used as a base.
The TTP has stepped up attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police since November, when it unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the government after the failure of months of talks, hosted by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers in Kabul.
The Pakistani Taliban regularly carry out shootings or bombings, especially in the rugged and remote northwestern Pakistan, a former TTP stronghold.
The uptick in violence has raised fears among residents of a possible military operation in the former tribal regions of North and South Waziristan, now two districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
