ISLAMABAD: Security forces in Pakistan lost 25 soldiers in two separate militant attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army's media wing, ISPR, confirmed on Tuesday, adding these encounters in Dera Ismail Khan city also resulted in the deaths of 27 militants.

The attacks on the security forces were claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), pointing to the ability of the militant network to generate extreme violence in the country’s frontier region with Afghanistan.

Pakistan has witnessed a major surge in suicide attacks since the beginning of the year. In one such instance, the militants targeted a mosque in police compound in Peshawar in which nearly 100 worshippers were killed while attending the prayer congregation in the afternoon.

According to the ISPR, six militants carried out a deadly attack in the early hours of Tuesday in the general area of Daraban when they targeted a military post with an explosive-laden vehicle.

“The resulting blasts led to the collapse of the building, causing multiple casualties,” the official statement said. “Twenty-three brave soldiers embraced shahadat [martyrdom], while all six terrorists were effectively engaged and [killed].”

Earlier, security forces had launched an intelligence-based operation in the Darazinda neighborhood, targeting a militant hideout and killing 17 armed men.

Another similar operation in Kulachi resulted in the deaths of four militants and two soldiers.

“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist present in the area, as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR added, emphasizing that the sacrifices of Pakistani soldiers only strengthened the resolve of the country's military.

The ISPR also noted the militants Dera Ismail Khan were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as killing of innocent civilians.”