- Militants open fire as Major Salman-led security team raids hideout in Timergara
- PM Abbasi says war against terror in fact a war of existence for a sovereign Pakistan
At least four personnel of the Pakistan Army, including a senior military officer, lost their lives while attempting to foil a terrorist attack in Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a press release issued on Wednesday by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Major Ali Salman, who belonged to an intelligence agency, along with his team carried out an intelligence-based operation against a terrorist hideout in Sherotkai area of Timergara in Lower Dir. When the security personnel raided the hideout, the suspected militants opened fire on the soldiers.
One of the two suicide bombers presents inside the hideout then blew himself up, while the other was killed in the exchange of fire with the security forces. One suspected terrorist was apprehended during the operation, the ISPR statement said.
The martyred officer and soldiers were identified as Maj Ali Salman, Havaldar Ghulam Nazir, Havaldar Akhtar Ahmad and Sepoy Abdul Karim.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi expressed his grief over the martyrdom of the army personnel. “Each drop of blood of our heroes is a testament to the fact that we all are united as a nation to cleanse our beloved motherland from terrorists,” he said.
He said that the war against terrorism was in fact war of “our existence” as a sovereign nation. “The cowardly attacks on our law enforcing agencies can never flinch our resolve to back-off or slowdown in our resolve to continue with anti-terror operations,” he said.
He said that the valiant armed forces had inflicted huge damage upon terrorist elements but at the same time had rendered immense sacrifices in doing so. The prime minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.
