Army captain, soldier killed in gunbattle with militants in northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army captain, soldier and five militants were killed in a shootout with militants in the northwestern Peshawar District on Sunday, the army’s media wing said in a statement.
The gunbattle took place when security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Hassan Khel area in Peshawar District on the reported presence of “terrorists,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said. 
It said five “terrorists” were killed while three others were injured during the exchange of fire. 
“However, during an intense exchange of fire, leading his troops from the front, Captain Hussain Jahangir (age: 25 years, resident of Rahim Yar Khan District) along with another brave son of soil, Havildar Shafiq Ullah (age: 36 years, resident of District Karak), having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat,” the ISPR said. 
The army said a sanitization operation was being carried out to eliminate any militants found in the area. 
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the army said.
 Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for killing five militants in a successful operation in Peshawar’s Hassan Khel area.
“The soldiers of the security forces carried out a successful operation against the terrorists by putting their lives at stake,” Sharif said in a statement. “[We] will rest only after completely eradicating the menace of terrorism.”
The entire nation was proud of its brave forces and paid a tribute to the martyrs, he added.
Pakistan’s security forces have suffered a surge in attacks from the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the country’s western regions bordering Afghanistan ever since a fragile truce between the state and the banned outfit broke down in November 2022. 
The TTP, which seeks to impose its strict version of Islam in the South Asian country, has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces since 2007 before the army conducted multiple operations to drive them out of the tribal areas. 
Repeated attacks from the TTP against Pakistan’s security forces have soured relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has accused the Taliban of providing shelter to TTP militants to attack Pakistan. Kabul has denied the allegations and insisted it does not allow any group to launch attacks on other countries from its soil.