Sixteen Pakistan Army soldiers were killed while thwarting terrorists’ bid to attack a security check post in the South Waziristan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.
On the night between December 20-21, a group of terrorists attempted to attack security forces check post in the general area of Makeen in the tribal district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
It said the attempt was effectively thwarted by troops and in the ensuing fire exchange, “eight khwarij [terrorists] were sent to hell”. “However, during intense fire exchange, sixteen brave sons of the soil, having fought gallantly embraced shahadat.”
The ISPR said a sanitization operation was launched in the area and the perpetrators of the heinous act will be brought to justice.
Earlier today, a Pakistan Army soldier was killed and four terrorists were neutralized after security forces successfully thwarted a bid to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said.
The ISPR had said that the troops engaged the terrorists after their movement was picked up in the Rajgal area in the night between December 19 and 20.
The statement also underscored Islamabad’s persistent calls urging Kabul’s interim government to “fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by [terrorists or khwarij] for perpetrating acts of terrorism against Pakistan”.
A total of 722 people were killed, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, while 615 others were wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review.
Nearly 97% of these fatalities occurred in KP and Balochistan – marking the highest percentage in a decade, and over 92% of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces’ operations were recorded in the same provinces.
The total fatalities from three quarters of this year have now surpassed the total fatalities recorded for 2023; the number of fatalities rose to at least 1,534 in the first three quarters compared to 1,523 in 2023.
