Home Latest News Three Soldiers Killed in Attack on Mountain Fort

Three Soldiers Killed in Attack on Mountain Fort

by AFP
File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP

File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP

Another two injured in assault, claimed by Ansar-ul-Mujahideen, on FC Qila in North Waziristan.

Three paramilitary soldiers were killed when a group of militants launched a rocket attack on a mountain fort in North Waziristan early Sunday, security officials said.

The midnight attack took place in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan, where the military launched a major offensive against the Taliban and other insurgents in June.

Officials said both military and paramilitary troops were inside the well-protected fort, locally known as FC Qila (FC Fort) at the time. “An unknown number of militants started firing rocket-propelled grenades from all sides. Three Frontier Corps men embraced martyrdom when one of the rockets landed inside the fort,” an official in Peshawar said. An intelligence official confirmed the attack and the casualties. Two soldiers were also wounded, according to a local government official.

A spokesman for the Ansar-ul-Mujahideen militant group, which is based in the tribal districts but not affiliated with the Taliban, later claimed responsibility for the attack. “We claim responsibility for this attack, this was to avenge the military operation in North Waziristan,” he told AFP. “We had carried out many such attacks on the Pakistan military but the media is not reporting it,” he added.

Pakistan began a long-awaited push to clear insurgent bases from North Waziristan after a bloody raid on Karachi airport finally sank faltering peace talks with the rebels. The Pakistan Army says it has killed more than 900 militants and lost 82 soldiers since the start of the operation.

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