Five soldiers martyred in terrorists' attack from Afghanistan

Terrorists suffered heavy causalities due to prompt response by Pakistani troops, says ISPR

At least five soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom when terrorists from inside Afghanistan opened fire on Pakistani troops across the international border in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Kurram district on Sunday, the military said.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani troops responded in a befitting manner, adding that terrorists suffered heavy causalities, as per the intelligence reports.

During the fire exchange, Lance Naik Ajab Noor (resident of Karachi, age 34 years), Sepoy Ziaullah Khan (resident of Lakki Marwat, age 22 years), Sepoy Naheed Iqbal (resident of Karak, age 23 years), Sepoy Sameerullah Khan (resident of Bannu, age 18 years) and Sepoy Sajid Ali (resident of Bahawalnagar, age 27 years) embraced martyrdom, said the military's media wing.

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"Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activities against Pakistan and expects that interim Afghan government will not allow conduct of such activities against Pakistan, in future," the official communiqué read.

The ISPR further said that Pakistan Army is determined to defend the country’s borders against the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of the brave men further strengthen our resolve.

The incident comes days after the security forces repulsed attempts to attack their camps in Panjgur and Naushki areas of Balochistan. A clearance operation to eliminate the remaining terrorists was completed last night.

Read: Security forces complete clearance operations

At least 20 terrorists were killed during the operations while nine security personnel embraced martyrdom, the military’s media wing added.

“Both [of the] attacks were repulsed successfully by the prompt response from troops at both locations,” the ISPR said.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, while condemning the terrorist attack, said in a statement that the interim Taliban government should ensure that such attacks do not take place as promised.

Paying homage to the sacrifices of the security forces, he said that their sacrifices will not go in vain.