File Photo. ISPR/AFP
IED blast took place in tribal region close to border with Afghanistan.
A bomb on Thursday killed at least two soldiers in North Waziristan, where the Army is carrying out a major offensive against Taliban militants, officials said.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening near the border with Afghanistan just northwest of Miranshah, a statement from the military said.
“Two soldiers embraced shahadat [martyrdom] Thursday evening in an improvised explosive device blast in the Ghulam Khan area,” the statement said, issued late Thursday.
Pakistan began the operation in mid-June following a brazen insurgent attack on Karachi airport that left dozens dead and a peace process with the Pakistani Taliban in tatters.
North Waziristan had become a major base for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which rose up against the state in 2007, while the United States had long called for action in the area against militant groups targeting Nato forces in Afghanistan.
More than 500 militants and 27 soldiers have been killed in the assault so far, according to the military, though their death toll for insurgents cannot be independently confirmed. In addition, more than 800,000 people have been forced to flee from North Waziristan by the assault, with most ending up in in the nearby town of Bannu where they either live in government-run camps or pay high rents for private accommodation.