At least two soldiers and four militants were killed in an exchange of fire in North Waziristan near the Afghan border, the military said on Monday.
The clash took place during a clearance operation late Sunday in North Waziristan tribal district, where the military has been waging a major offensive against insurgents since June.
“Four terrorists were killed during clearance operation in Gharlamai area of North Waziristan. Two soldiers also embraced shahadat (martyrdom) in the exchange of fire,” a military statement said.
No other details of the clash were given but two intelligence officials said both soldiers and militants used heavy weapons.
TIRAH BLASTS:
Meanwhile, two peace committee volunteers were killed in back-to-back bombings in Tirah Valley on Monday.
According to official sources, the first blast occurred near a peace committee post in Narai Baba area of Tirah Valley, killing one person who was said to be a peace volunteer of Tauheedul Islam (TI). Two other TI activists sustained injuries in the explosion.
In the second explosion, another peace committee volunteer was killed.
Khyber Agency is among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants. These are also home to religious extremist organisations including al Qaeda.
Pakistan’s military launched the operation ‘Khyber-1’ last month with air strikes against Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) hideouts in areas under the Mangal Bagh-led group’s control in Tirah and Bara.
The latest operation was launched amidst Zarb-e-Azb, a full-fledged military operation being conducted by the army against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.
