File photo. Abdul Majeed—AFP
ISPR says two terrorists were also killed in the separate incidents, while three others were taken into custody and one surrendered himself
Two soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom on Wednesday during separate intelligence-based operation in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and Kot Kili, South Waziristan, respectively, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The military’s media wing said that that operations had been launched on the reported presence of terrorists in Tank and Kot Kili. Identifying the martyred soldiers as 31-year-old Sepoy Faridullah, resident of Karak, and 29-year-old Sepoy Shuaib Hassan, resident of Dera Ismail Khan, it said that both men had bravely fought against terrorists, inflicting casualties before succumbing during an intense firefight.
Two terrorists were killed in the clashes, said the ISPR, while three others were apprehended and one man surrendered to security forces. It said the security forces had recovered weapons and a huge cache of ammunition, including improvised explosive devices and rockets, from the terrorists.
On Wednesday, ISPR director-general Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar said “many” terrorists had been killed during intelligence-based operations in the past year, adding that nearly 250 soldiers had embraced martyrdom. He vowed that the armed forces would continue their operations until the menace of extremism had been wiped out and clarified that the government had entered into a ceasefire with the banned Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan—which ended on Dec. 9—on the request of Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.