RAWALPINDI: Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred and at least 16 militants were killed in a series of intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.
The ISPR said 12 militants, including two Afghan nationals, were killed in Ali Khel after fierce exchanges of fire over the past 12 hours. Two more militants were killed in each of Mir Ali and Datta Khel. The operations targeted locations in Mir Ali, Datta Khel and surrounding areas of North Waziristan.
The soldiers who died
The ISPR named the two soldiers as Havildar Asmat Ali, 43, from Swabi district, and Naik Aftab Ali, 32, from Mardan district. It paid tribute to them, saying they fought courageously. President Asif Ali Zardari also praised the security forces and offered condolences over the soldiers’ deaths.
Weapons recovered, operations continue
According to the ISPR, weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants who were killed. It added that sanitisation operations were continuing to clear any remaining militants from the area.
The ISPR described the militants as belonging to “Fitna al-Khawarij” and as “Indian-sponsored”. “Fitna al-Khawarij” is the state’s term for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The ISPR has not publicly provided evidence for the claim of Indian sponsorship in this statement. India has previously rejected similar allegations.
Part of a wider campaign
The latest operations came a day after the ISPR said 74 militants had been killed in intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. On Friday, it said 43 militants were killed over 48 hours in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including 35 in Mir Ali and eight in Orakzai. A further 31 were killed in Balochistan in an operation launched on November 3.
Militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have risen since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
