- Slain militants belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group, says Pakistani military
- Says militants were involved in “terrorist activities” including the killing of civilians
ISLAMABAD: Two soldiers and 16 militants were killed in separate counterterror operations in northwest Pakistan, the military’s media wing said on Saturday, with the army vowing to eliminate “foreign-sponsored terrorism” from the country.
Pakistani forces carried out a series of intelligence-based operations in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) North Waziristan district over the past 12 hours. Security forces engaged in fierce gunbattles in Mir Ali, Datakhel and other surrounding areas of North Waziristan district, the military said.
It added that 12 militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, including two Afghan nationals, were killed in Ali Khel area. In another operation, two militants each were killed in Mir Ali and Datakhel areas, it added.
“However, during these engagements, two brave sons of soil, Havildar Asmat Ali (age: 43 years, resident of District Swabi) and Naik Aftab Ali (age: 32 years, resident of District Mardan) who fought gallantly, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said.
The ISPR said weapons and ammunition have also been recovered from the slain militants, adding that they were involved in numerous “terrorist activities,” such as killing of civilians.
The military vowed that sanitization operations will continue in these areas to eliminate militants “holed up” there. It said “foreign sponsored terrorism” would be eliminated from the country.
Pakistan accuses India of arming and funding militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad also accuses Kabul of facilitating attacks against Pakistani law enforcers and sheltering these militant groups.
Afghanistan and India both deny the allegations, urging Islamabad to resolve its security challenges without blaming them.
Pakistani security forces have intensified security operations in KP and southwestern Balochistan provinces this month. The ISPR said on Friday that the military has killed 74 militants in both western provinces bordering Afghanistan since Nov. 3.
