Three soldiers martyred in North Waziristan IED attack

Three soldiers of Pakistan Army were martyred and four others sustained injuries when they were targeted by terrorists while providing protection to road construction teams working in Ghariom sector on Road Shaga-Nishpa in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan district, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

The military's media wing said that Lieutenant Nasir Hussain Khalid, 23, from Muzaffarabad, 33-year-old Naik Muhammad Imran from Faisalabad and 30-year-old Sepoy Usman Akhtar from Rawalpindi embraced martyrdom as a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) exploded which was planted by the terrorists.

Security forces cordoned off the area and a search operation was being carried out for area clearance, the statement added.

Lt Hussain was a brilliant cadet. Due to his outstanding performance in Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) he was selected to undergo training at Royal Military College, Duntroon in Australia.

In June, two soldiers had embraced martyrdom when their patrolling vehicle was targeted through an IED in North Waziristan.

The ISPR said that Subedar Aziz and Lance Naik Mushtaq were martyred while two other soldiers sustained injuries during the attack in South East of Miranshah.

Security forces killed two terrorists during an exchange of fire in North Waziristan district in April.

During the exchange of fire with the terrorists at their hideout in Dargai, some eight kilometres north-west of Dattakhel, a soldier also embraced martyrdom