Soldier martyred, eight militants killed in northwest clashes : military

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: A soldier was killed and eight militants were neutralised in a series of military operations in the restive northwest, the army said on Monday, as security forces step up efforts to quell rising insurgent violence.

The operations took place in North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Khyber, and Bannu districts, the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.

In North Waziristan’s Mir Ali district, troops killed three militants in an intelligence-based operation, while two more were killed in South Waziristan. A soldier, identified as Naik Mujahid Khan, 40, from Kohat district, died in the exchange, the ISPR said.

Three additional militants were killed in separate clashes in Khyber and Bannu. Weapons and explosives were recovered from the slain fighters, who the military said were involved in attacks on security forces and civilians.

“Sanitization operations are ongoing to clear the area of any remaining terrorists,” the ISPR said.

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, since a fragile ceasefire with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) collapsed in late 2022. The government accuses Afghanistan of sheltering TTP fighters, a claim Kabul denies.

Last month, the military said it killed 54 militants attempting to cross from Afghanistan into North Waziristan.

Blasts Target Security Forces in Southwest

Elsewhere, two Pakistan Coast Guards personnel were wounded when a remote-controlled bomb hit their patrol vehicle in Jiwani, Balochistan, officials said.

In a separate incident in Pishin district, a roadside bomb damaged a Levies official’s car, though no casualties were reported.

Security forces later defused a 10-kg explosive device planted on a motorcycle in Khuzdar district, averting another potential attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the Balochistan blasts. Separatist and Islamist militants have previously targeted security forces in the region.