LAKKI MARWAT/QUETTA: Three security men, including an army major, embraced martyrdom in a shootout in the Bakka Khel area of Bannu while eight militants were also killed in the exchange of fire, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.

A statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) read that the security forces planned an intelligence-based operation (IBO) after reports about the presence of militants in the area. It said the security forces effectively engaged militants and killed eight of them. Seven militants were injured.

Major Atif Khalil, 31, of Azad Jammu Kashmir’s Sudhanoti district was leading his troops when he embraced martyrdom along with Naik Azadullah, 36-year-old resident of district Karak and 35-year-old Lance Naik Ghazanfar Abbas from Layyah, the ISPR statement added.

It said a sanitisation operation was being carried out to eliminate “any other militant” found in the area, as security forces of Pakistan were determined to wipe out the menace of militancy.

In a separate operation in Zhob, one militant was killed and another was arrested after he was injured by security forces in the Sambaza area of Zhob. The ISPR said security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation on the night of 29-30 October in the general area of Sambaza following a tip-off.

During the shootout, a militant was gunned down while another was apprehended in injured condition, it said, adding that weapons and ammunition were also recovered.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024