According to the military, at least six Pakistani soldiers were killed in a gun battle with Taliban fighters in the northwestern region of the country near the Afghan border on Thursday.
The Pakistani army stated that “a fire exchange took place between terrorists and our own troops” in North Waziristan district, a stronghold of the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several armed groups. The army engaged three fighters, killing them, and is currently searching the area in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to determine if any more attackers are in hiding.
Although the statement provided no further details, the region is a hotbed of the Pakistan Taliban, which has killed tens of thousands of people in decades of violence. It is unclear who the assailants were.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his grief at the “martyrdom” of soldiers and tweeted, “These supreme sacrifices by our security forces, police and intelligence community are a show of our unwavering national resolve to protect the motherland from the scourge of terrorism and militancy. My profound condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the departed souls.”
2023-05-04 10:30:04 Pakistani soldiers in deadly gun battle with armed fighters
Source from www.aljazeera.com
