Three soldiers martyred whilst exchange of fire with terrorists in Kurram: ISPR

RAWALPINDI, Dec 29 (SABAH): At least three soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom on Thursday during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, the military said in a statement.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani troops fought bravely and effectively engaged the terrorists’ location in the Arawali area of the district.

During an intense exchange of fire, it said two terrorists were killed and their weapons and ammunition were also recovered. The killed terrorists remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces, the ISPR added.

The military’s media wing stated that 43-year-old resident of Khairpur Subedar Shuja Muhammad, 32-year-old resident of Khuzdar Naik Muhammad Ramzan and 30-year-old resident of Sukkur Sepoy Abdul Rehman embraced martyrdom during the exchange of fire.

It said that a sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. “Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” ISPR further said.

The incident came amid a spike in terrorist attacks across the country claimed mostly by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which unilaterally scrapped a ceasefire in November effectively ending a start-stop negotiation process brokered by the Afghan Taliban.

The TTP, which was comprehensively defeated in a decisive kinetic operation by the military, has found safe havens across the border in Afghanistan from where the group has been directing its terrorist operations in Pakistan.