ISLAMABAD: A lieutenant colonel was among two soldiers killed in a suicide blast during an operation that killed five militants in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.
The vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted a security forces convoy in KP’s Bannu district during an intelligence-based operation conducted on reports of militants’ presence, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
During the conduct of operation, security forces located a group of militants and gunned down five Pakistani Taliban members following an intense exchange of fire.
“Khwarij [Pakistani Taliban] are continuing with their terrorist activities inside Pakistan using Afghan soil, violating the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“The Afghan Taliban regime has yet again failed to stop the Khwarij from use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities inside Pakistan.”
Kabul did not immediately respond to the statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpost jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
“Pakistan will not exercise any restrain and operations would continue against the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act for justified retribution against Khwarij irrespective of their location,” the Pakistani military said after Saturday’s attack.
