From left: Sepoy Inayatullah and Sepoy Hasnain Ishtiaq. Photo courtesy ISPR
Two soldiers were martyred during a shootout with terrorists who attacked a security forces’ checkpost along the Pak-Iran border in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the incident took place in Singwan in district Kech of the restive province. It said a group of terrorists had opened fire on the checkpost, adding that troops had responded “gallantly with all available weapons,” resulting in a heavy exchange of fire.
“Security forces pushed back the terrorists successfully,” it said. However, it said that two soldiers—Sepoy Hasnain Ishtiaq, 34, resident of Dera Ghazi Khan and Sepoy Inayatullah, 27, resident of Jhal Magsi—had embraced martyrdom while bravely fighting the terrorists.
According to the ISPR, a sanitization operation is presently underway in the area. It said troops were in contact with Iranian authorities across the border to ensure the terrorists were not granted any opportunity to escape.
“Security forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace and stability all along the borders in Balochistan,” it added.
There has been a marked resurgence of terrorism across Pakistan, particularly in the border regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ended a ceasefire it had inked with the government and formalized a nexus with Baloch separatists. A day earlier, the ISPR said that two terrorists had been gunned down by security forces during an intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan.
“During the conduct of the operation, intense fire exchange occurred between security forces and terrorists, resulting in the killing of two terrorists,” it said, adding that weapons and ammunition had been recovered from the slain terrorists.