ISLAMABAD: Six Pakistani soldiers and four militants were killed during an exchange of gunfire in the country’s northwestern South Waziristan district, the army’s media wing said in a statement on Tuesday.
The violence took place in the Asman Manza area of South Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, and was formerly a part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) before being incorporated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
The attack was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have been responsible for some of the most devastating attacks in Pakistan since 2007.
“Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and resultantly four terrorists were sent to hell, while two terrorists were injured,” the army’s media wing said. “However, during an intense exchange of fire, six brave soldiers, having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat (martyrdom).”
Security forces were presently securing the area to ensure the elimination of any other militants possibly present there, the army said.
“Armed forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the statement added.
Though militancy declined in the district in the last decade due to a number of military operations, a resurgence in violence has been witnessed along the Afghanistan border after the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in 2021. Attacks have also increased manifold since the breakdown of a fragile truce between the TTP and the state in November last year.
