BAJAUR: Five suspe­cted militants were killed and a soldier was martyred in clashes in North Waziristan and Bajaur on Thursday. In Peshawar, one person died when a bomb went off in the city’s Pishtakhara area.

The first clash between security forces and the militants took place in the Eidak area of North Waziri­stan when three accused were being shifted from Miramshah to Bannu, according to official sources.

The convoy of security forces, including the Counter Terrorism Depart­ment (CTD) of police, was attacked by militants with heavy weapons.

They said security forces repulsed the attack and four militants, including the three who were under custody, were killed.

During the second clash in Bajaur’s Loesam area, one militant was gunned down, the military’s media wing said, adding that a sepoy embraced martyrdom in the fighting.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that during the intense exch­ange of fire, 23-year-old Sepoy Shafiqur Rehman, a resident of Dera Ismail Khan district, having fou­ght gallantly, embraced martyrdom.

Following the gun battle, a sanitisation was launched in the area to “eliminate any remaining militant,” the ISPR added.

Bomb explosion

In the Pishtakhara area of Peshawar, one person lost his life and three others were injured when a magnet bomb, attached to a motorbike, exploded, according to the police.

The motorbike was brought to a mechanic shop for repair but as soon as one of the employees started repairing it, the explosion took place.

One person, identified as Samiullah, died while two mechanics, Ishaq and Fazal Wahid, and the motorbike owner Wadood were injured.

The injured persons were taken to hospital. Alam Khan, the PR officer of Peshawar police, confirmed that around 200g of explosives were used in the bomb.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2023