Daily Times

At least 23 terrorists were killed and five soldiers of the Pakistan Army were martyred in a series of intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Peshawar, Tank, and Khyber districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province over two days, the military’s media wing said on Monday.

On May 27, security forces conducted an operation in Tank district which resulted in the elimination of ten terrorists in the area.

The second operation took place in the general area of Bagh in Khyber district on the same day and seven terrorists were neutralized while two were injured.

However, during the intense exchange of fire, five soldiers were martyred. In addition to neutralizing the terrorists, the security forces recovered a substantial cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the operations.

Earlier on May 26, a captain and a soldier embraced martyrdom during an IBO in the Hassan Khel area of Peshawar in which six terrorists were also killed yesterday, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The Pakistan Army captain and soldier martyred during Hassan Khel IBO were laid to rest with full military honours in their native areas.

“Sanitisation operations are being are being carried out to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said. “[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.”

The recent operations in K-P resulted in the martyrdom of five brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army.

Naik Muhammad Ashfaq Butt, aged 32, hailed from district Kahuta. He served in the Pakistan Army for 10 years. He leaves behind a wife, a daughter, and two sons.

Lance Naik Syed Danish Afkar was 30, a resident of district Poonch. He dedicated six years to the armed forces.

Sepoy Taimoor Malik, aged 32, belonged to district Layyah and served in the military for 11 years. He leaves behind his grieving parents and siblings.

The youngest of the martyrs, Sepoy Nadir Sageer, aged 22, was from district Bagh and served in the forces for two years.

Sepoy Muhammad Yasin, 23, hailed from district Khushab. He served in the Pakistan Army for one and a half years.

On May 4, the military announced that security forces conducted a successful operation in K-P’s North Waziristan district, resulting in the death of at least six terrorists and the destruction of their hideout.