Global Courant
The Pakistani military says militants attacked a security checkpoint in the northwest of the country, along the border with Afghanistan, sparking a firefight that left three soldiers and three militants dead
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants attacked a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, along the border with Afghanistan, sparking a firefight that left three soldiers and three militants dead, the army said on Sunday.
Four militants were also injured, the army said in a statement.
Saturday’s nighttime shooting took place in the Miran Shah tribal area of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP.
The Pakistani military conducted searches to identify those responsible for the attack. They also seized a stash of ammunition found with the dead militants.
The army said it was “determined to remove the threat of terrorism”.
Although the military says it has cleared North Waziristan of militants, occasional attacks and firefights continue, raising concerns that the Pakistani Taliban are regrouping in the area.
Although a separate group, the TTP remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, during the final weeks of the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the country after two decades of war .
The acquisition encouraged the TTP. They unilaterally terminated a ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani government last November and have since stepped up their attacks in the country, particularly against the military.
