New Delhi: At least four Pakistani soldiers were killed and seven others injured as another clash between the Pakistani army and the country’s Taliban militants. The army launched an offensive against militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban near the border with Afghanistan in Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack was foiled on Wednesday.
According to the information, “A large group of terrorists” attacked two Pakistani military posts located near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chitral,” a statement by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack on Ostai security check post and Janjirat Koh check post in Chitral district. Four helicopters were forced to make emergency landings to handle the chaotic situation. The Pakistani Army claimed that the terrorists were equipped with latest weapons.
The ISPR said that the area was being cleared to eliminate any other terrorists in the area. During the exchange of fire, 12 terrorists were killed while a large number of their men were seriously injured.
The terrorists were concentrated in Gawardesh, Pitigal, Barg-e-Matel and Batash areas in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan and their movement has been identified and shared with the Afghan government, The Pakistan Army’s media wing said.
The attack comes days after Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir said that the country cannot be “coerced by the cowardly tactics of terrorists”. The army called on the interim Afghan government to meet its obligations and refuse to use Pakistani Taliban members to continue terrorist acts against Pakistan.
