ISLAMABAD: Two soldiers and five militants— among them two suicide bombers— were killed during an intense gunbattle in southwestern Pakistan, the army’s media wing said on Tuesday as Islamabad grapples with surging militancy in its restive Balochistan province.
The attack took place on Monday night when militants attempted to attack a security forces’ checkpost in Gulistan area of Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said.
It said army troops thwarted the attempt, forcing the militants to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall of the checkpost. The fire exchange caused all five militants to die, the ISPR said.
“However, during the intense fire exchange two brave sons of soil, Naik Tahir Khan (Age 39 years; resident of Tank District) and Lance Naik Tahir Iqbal (Age 26 years; resident of Karak District), having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” the army’s media wing said.
It said security forces were carrying out a sanitization operation in the area to clear it of any further militants.
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded security forces for sacrificing their lives for the country, vowing they would not go to waste.
“The nation is proud of these sons who stand against terrorists like a wall,” Sharif said in a statement. “The government and security forces are determined to completely eradicate terrorism from the country.”
Separately, security forces also conducted an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern Bannu district on the reported presence of militants, ISPR said. It said three militants were killed while nine others were injured in the exchange of fire.
Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, rich in minerals and gas, has been the center of an armed insurgency launched by ethnic Baloch separatists. The most prominent militant group among them, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) accuses the central government in Islamabad of robbing the province and its locals of its natural resources.
Pakistan’s government and military strongly reject the allegations and have said they are undertaking several development schemes to bring progress to the impoverished area. The BLA launched a series of coordinated attacks in the province in August last year, killing over 50 in one of the deadliest attacks in Balochistan in recent years.
