The Pakistani Army killed 22 terrorists and injured others in three separate military operations in the Waziristan, Tank and Thal districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, north west of Pakistan.
The attack took place in the Kurram district of northwestern Pakistan, where sectarian violence has killed at least 130 people and wounded 200 others in the last few weeks.
The sectarian violence began on Nov. 21 when unidentified gunmen attacked passenger vans, killing several people, including women. The attack triggered weeks of clashes between Shiite and Sunni tribes. Peace has been later restored following a ceasefire between the two sides.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army's media wing, said in a statement on Saturday that the three operations were conducted based on intelligence reports about the presence of terrorists. It said six soldiers were killed during the operations.
“The Security Forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe-out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR statement said
President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to security forces for killing the 22 terrorists and lauded the personnel's bravery during the operations. He also expressed his condolences for the death of the six soldiers.
The army said security forces thwarted a terrorist attack on their post in the Thal District. They affirmed killing three terrorists.
Attacks by extremists regularly target the army and police in Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, especially on its border with Afghanistan.
In November, at least 20 soldiers were killed in separate incidents over less than 24 hours in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan's border areas have seen a resurgence of violence since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul.
The Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said its fighters had killed the soldiers by storming a security checkpoint. It did not say how many militants had died in the clashes.
The TTP has accelerated its attacks in recent months, mostly targeting members of the security forces.
