September 18, Islamabad
Six soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded, targeting a security forces vehicle in northwestern Pakistan, Pakistani military and police said Friday. Ten suspected militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban were also killed in separate operations carried out by security forces following the incident.
Local officials said the bomb targeted a security forces vehicle in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday. Six soldiers were confirmed killed in the blast.
According to the military, security forces raided locations where suspected militants were hiding during intelligence-based operations conducted in North Waziristan and Hangu districts on Thursday. The military said in a statement that 10 suspected militants were killed in the operations.
The military referred to those killed as “Khawarij,” a term used by the Pakistani government for members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Although the TTP is a separate organisation from the Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the two are said to have ties.
Soldiers have also been killed in various attacks targeting security forces in Pakistan this year. In June, three soldiers of the Pakistan Rangers were killed and four others injured in an encounter with militants.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan of providing shelter to the TTP and failing to take adequate measures to prevent cross-border militant attacks. The government in Kabul has repeatedly rejected the allegations.
—RSS/AP
