Pakistan militant shootout leaves four dead in former Taliban stronghold
Militants ambushed troops in a former stronghold in the northwest of the country, triggering an intense shootout in which two officers and two insurgents were killed, the military said Tuesday.
The claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, following a spate of attacks in the troubled northwest region.
سیکورٹی فورسز کا ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان، ٹانک اور جنوبی وزیرستان میں آپریشن، کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے 2 دہشت گرد ہلاک، 3 گرفتار، جبکہ فائرنگ کے تبادلے پاکستانی فوج کے دو اہلکار فرید اللہ اور شعیب حسن ہلاک ہوگئے۔
— Shabbir Hussain Turi (@ShabbirTuri)
The pre-dawn battle happened in South Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a military statement. It said the slain insurgents were involved in multiple past attacks on security forces.
The military said the officers killed were an army major and a junior officer. It provided no further details.
The Pakistani Taliban are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and are a separate group from the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, who took over that country in August.
Since then, the TTP has stepped up attacks on security forces in the region and elsewhere.