Six soldiers martyred in Waziristan skirmish

At least six army soldiers embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Dirduni area of North Waziristan district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the army’s media affairs wing said on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army troops effectively engaged the terrorists at their location. “During the incident, three terrorists were killed, while another two were injured.”

The ISPR said during the intense exchange of fire, “six brave soldiers having fought gallantly embraced shahadat (martyrdom)”. The martyred soldiers were identified as 36 years old Havaldar Saleem Khan, resident of Tank district; Naik Javed lqbal (37 years old), resident of Kohat district; Sepoy Nazir Khan (26 years old), resident of Bannu district; Sepoy Hazrat Bilal (25 years old), resident of Mardan district; Sepoy Syed Rajab Hussain, (22 years old), resident of Orakzai district; and 22 years old Sepoy Bismillah Jan who was the resident of Khyber district.

The statement added that the screening of the area was being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. "The security forces are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the ISPR said.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the grieved families. "No matter how long the battle, our valiant armed forces, with the support of the nation, will root out terrorism in its entirety," he said in a statement.

(With additional input from agencies)