10 FC men martyred in DI Khan terrorist attack

Ten Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers and a gentleman cadet of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul, embraced martyrdom in two separate terrorist attacks in Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

The 10 FC soldiers were martyred and three other sustained injuries, while repulsing a terrorist attack on a mountain-top picket at Zam, near Darazinda area of the Dera Ismail Khan district, the interior ministry and the local police said.

"Ten FC soldiers were martyred, while bravely fighting the Khawarji terrorists, while three others sustained injuries. The martyred soldiers foiled the attack of the Kharji terrorists on the check post by sacrificing their lives," an interior ministry spokesperson said.

According to the police, the terrorists attacked the soldiers with heavy and modern weapons. Contingents of security forces and police were rushed to the scene, who shifted the bodies and the injured to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dera Ismail Khan.

The ministry said that six of the martyred soldiers belonged to South Waziristan and the four to Karak. They were identified as Naib Subidar Muhammad Jan, Naik Arif, Lance Naik Saeedur Rehman and sepoys Akhonzada, Hazratullah, Mushtaq, Abdul Samad, Imran, Basir Mehtab. Three soldiers, Naik Hamza Noor, Sepoy Hasan, Sepoy Sabir Ayub, sustained injuries in the attack.

Later, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that a gentleman cadet of the PMA , embraced martyrdom, while fighting off terrorists, who opened fire in a mosque in Lakki Marwat district during Maghrib prayers.

Gentleman Cadet Arif Ullah, 19, was on leave from the PMA. He was in his home town and had gone to the mosque to offer Maghrib prayers. "As soon as Khwarij started firing, he immediately responded and fought the khwarij bravely," the ISPR stated.

"However, during the incident, Gentleman Cadet Arif Ullah (Age 19 years; resident of Lakki Marwat) embarced Shahadat, sacrificing his life, while saving many innocent lives of worshippers," the ISPR statement added.

"Such heinous and cowardly act of attacking worshippers in the mosque, while praying reflected the true ideology of these Khwarij," it said, adding that the valiant act of a young gentleman cadet was a testament of the spirit of sacrifice and dedication of security forces' personnel to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices further strengthen our resolve.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack. In a statement, the president expressed grief over the martyrdom of 10 FC soldiers. He lauded the patriotic spirit and bravery of the soldiers and prayed for high ranks of the martyred and patience for the bereaved families.

In a separate statement, the prime minister paid rich tribute to the FC personnel who bravely fought the terrorists. He also expressed condolence over the martyrdom of two policemen in a terrorist attack in Bannu district and commiserated with the bereaved families. The PM reaffirmed the resolve to root out the scourge of terrorism.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the terrorist attack and also denounced the incidents involving firing at the SHO's vehicle in Bannu and a sub-inspector in Kohat. Naqvi paid homage to the ten FC personnel who were martyred in the attack on the Zam check post.