6 terrorists shot dead, 4 soldiers martyred in tribal districts' operations

RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Thursday that six terrorists were killed and four soldiers were martyred during two operations in separate tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The military's media wing said in a statement that fierce encounters between the terrorists and security forces occurred on the night between October 18 and 19 in North and South Waziristan districts.

The ISPR mentioned that the first engagement occurred in North Waziristan's Gharyoum area, where the security forces "effectively engaged the terrorists’ location" and killed six militants.

The killed terrorists included a high-value target, terrorist ringleader Hazrat Zaman alias Khawarey Mullah, who was actively involved in multiple terrorist activities in the area and was wanted by law enforcement agencies, the ISPR said.

During the operation, three soldiers lost their lives:

• Lance Naik Tabbasum Ul Haq: age 36, resident of Rawalpindi district
• Sepoy Naeem Akhtar: age 30, resident of Attock district
• Sepoy Abdul Hameed: age 23, resident of Multan district

In another intense fire exchange between the troops and terrorists in South Waziristan's Asman Manza area, Sepoy Farman Ali, 25, a resident of Kashmore district, "paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat".

Following the operation, sanitisation is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, the ISPR said.

"The security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve."