Two soldiers martyred in Buner IBO

High-value target killed in operation

RAWALPINDI:

Two soldiers of Pakistan Army were martyred in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) carried out in the Buner district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.

At least one terrorist was also killed and two others were injured in the skirmish.

During the operation, an intense exchange of fire took place between the troops. The martyred personnel were identified as Lance Havildar Mudassar Mehmood (age 36 yrs; resident of district Rawalpindi) and Lance Naik Haseeb Javed (age 27 yrs; resident of district Poonch, AJ&K).

The military's media wing added that the slain militant was a high-value target, Saleem alias Rabbani, who was involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as extortion and target killings of civilians.

Read At least 10 terrorists killed in DI Khan, Panjgur IBOs: ISPR

The government had fixed head money of Rs5 million for Saleem, the ISPR added.

A sanitisation operation was conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area. "Security forces of Pakistan remain determined to wipe-out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the ISPR stated.

In February, security forces killed two terrorists in an IBO in North Waziristan district, while a police officer was martyred in an armed attack on a police check post in Buner.

The military’s media wing said forces conducted an IBO in North Waziristan.

The ISPR stated that the leader of the slain terrorists, Ayubullah alias Mansoor, was among the dead. It added that the terrorists were involved in target killing, extortion and kidnapping of civilians in the area. Arms and ammunition were also recovered from their possession.