Security forces initiated an operation in Miran Shah, the main town of North Waziristan, “to eliminate remaining terrorists” after receiving concrete intelligence reports about the presence of militants, AP reported citing a military statement late Friday.
It said as troops closed in on the location, a group of militants was spotted and intercepted triggering an intensive shootout, resulting in the death of the army major leading the operation and another soldier. One militant was killed and another injured.
The army said they conducted another raid on a militant hideout in Tirah valley of Khyber district along with the border with Afghanistan where a soldier and a militant were killed early Friday.
Militant attacks on security forces in the northwest saw an increase in recent days.
On Thursday a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in northwest Pakistan, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 others. The attack happened in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan has repeatedly asked the interim Afghan government to act against “individuals and entities that threaten Pakistan” and live up to its commitments to the international community.
AMK/PR