Army captain among four soldiers killed in gunbattles with suspected militants in northwest Pakistan

In this handout photo, taken and released by Pakistan’s Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Asim Munir (2R) console father of Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad as he reacts by the body of his son, who was killed in a gunfight in North Waziristan early Tuesday, during funeral prayers in Rawalpindi on July 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy: ISPR)

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been scene of several attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccinators in recent weeks
• The gunbattles took place in North and South Waziristan districts, which have been former strongholds of Pakistani Taliban

ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani soldiers, including an army captain, and two militants were killed in separate gunfights in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday, amid a wave of militant violence in the South Asian country.
The northwestern Pakistani province, which borders Afghanistan, has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, a fire exchange took place between security forces and militants in the restive North Waziristan district and two militants were killed in its wake, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad, who was leading troops and fought gallantly, was also killed in the intense gunfight.
“Sanitization operation is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Hours later, three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a gunbattle in the South Waziristan district, according to the ISPR. Both districts have been former strongholds of the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan witnessed a spike in militant violence in its two western provinces, KP and Balochistan, since the Pakistani Taliban called off their fragile truce with the government in November 2022. The group has intensified its attacks in recent months.
Last week, three people were killed and five others were injured in a remote-controlled roadside blast in KP’s Mardan district, according to police.
A policeman and a paramilitary soldier were killed after militants attacked a check-post in KP’s Khyber district this month, while in June, seven Pakistani soldiers, including an army captain, were killed in a roadside blast in the Lakki Marwat district of the province.
Islamabad has blamed the surge in violence on militants operating out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad.