Four soldiers were martyred and five others critically injured after terrorists launched a “dastardly attack” on the Pakistan Army’s Zhob Garrison in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a group of terrorists targeted the garrison early on Wednesday morning. It said an initial attempt to infiltrate the facility had been rebuffed by soldiers on duty, adding the interception triggered a heavy exchange of fire.
The militants, read the statement, were “contained into a small area at the boundary” with three of the “heavily armed” terrorists killed in the gunbattle. “A clearance operation by security forces is under way to apprehend the remaining two terrorists as well,” it said. “Security forces remain determined to thwart all such ghastly attempts at destroying peace of Balochistan and Pakistan,” it added.
Local media on Wednesday morning reported that the garrison had come under attack, adding that a civilian had been killed in the crossfire while five others had been injured.
There has been a resurgence of terrorism across Pakistan, particularly Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended a ceasefire last November. According to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the first six months of 2023 have seen several terrorist assaults that resulted in the deaths of 389 people. The Army has vowed to eradicate all terrorists “without any distinction,” with the ISPR informing media earlier this year that intelligence-based operations would be prioritized to rid the country of militancy.