Five Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred on Friday after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated as their vehicle was passing the Sadda area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, according to the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) identified the martyred soldiers as Havildar Aqeel Ahmed, 33, resident of Okara district; Lance Naik Muhammad Tafeer, 30, resident of Poonch district; Sepoy Anosh Rufun, 24, resident of Attock district; Sepoy Muhammad Azam Khan, 26, resident of Haripur district; and Sepoy Haroon William, 29, resident of Islamabad Capital Territory. It said the five men had made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat in the terror attack.
The ISPR statement said law enforcers had initiated a sanitization operation in the area after the detonation to eliminate any terrorists present in the area. It stressed that the perpetrators of this heinous act would be brought to justice. “The security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it said.
Pakistan is the midst of a terror resurgence since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021. The militancy is primarily focused on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with at least 92 percent of all fatalities and 86 percent of attacks recorded in the provinces in the first quarter of 2024. According to the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the first three months of 2024 saw 245 incidents of terrorism, resulting in at least 432 fatalities and 370 injuries of civilians, security personnel and outlaws. Of the 432, it added, 281 were civilians and security forces personnel.