PESHAWAR: A soldier was martyred and seven terrorists were killed in two separate encounters between security forces and terrorists in North Waziristan on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The military’s media wing stated that an intelligence-based operation (IBO) was conducted in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan following reports of militants’ presence there. Security forces engaged the militants’ location, killing four.

In another encounter in the district’s Spinwam area, three more militants were neutralised in an exchange of fire.

However, during the operation, 34-year-old Lance Naik Muhammad Amin from Faisalabad embraced martyrdom.

Three security officials martyred in Spinwam, Gwadar and Khuzdar

The ISPR added that a sanitisation operation was underway to clear the area of remaining militants, reaffirming the military’s resolve to eradicate militancy.

On Dec 7, the ISPR reported that 22 militants were killed in three operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Six security personnel were martyred during those operations.

In Tank district’s Gul Imam area, nine militants were killed and six injured in an IBO. Another operation in North Waziristan eliminated 10 militants, while a third in Hangu’s Thall area resulted in the death of three militants.

Two security personnel martyred

In Balochistan, two security officials were martyred and two others injured in three separate attacks on Wednesday, officials said.

In Gwadar district, unidentified assailants attacked the Kanda checkpoint near Akra Kaur Dam, engaging security personnel in heavy gunfire. One soldier, Abdul Sattar, was martyred, and Hawaldar Imran sustained injuries.

Security forces rushed to the site and shifted the body and injured to a hospital in Gwadar. A search operation has been launched to track down the attackers.

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In Khuzdar, armed men targeted Levies officer Abdul Hafeez, a naib resaldar, while he was travelling in his car.

The officer succumbed to multiple bullet wounds on the spot. Police moved his body to the district hospital and suspected the incident was a targeted killing. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Later in the evening, armed men opened fire on Levies personnel Naseer Ahmed in Kharan. The injured officer, posted in Washuk district, was shifted to a local hospital.

Behram Baloch in Gwadar and Abdul Wahid Shahwani in Khuzdar also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2024