Two Pakistani army officers and four soldiers killed in firefight with militants in Hangu; eight terrorists eliminated during exchange.
Two Pakistani army officers and four soldiers were killed in a gunfight with militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district on Sunday, according to military officials. Eight terrorists were also killed during the exchange, which took place as security forces conducted operations against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
- ▪Captain Abuzar Farooq, 23, from Gujranwala and Lieutenant Sheraz Babar, 22, from Chakwal were leading their troops when they were killed.
- ▪The four other soldiers killed comprised three sepoys and one non-combatant support staff member.
- ▪Military officials said eight militants from the TTP-linked group Fitna al Khwarij were killed in the firefight.
- ▪A sanitisation operation was underway to locate and eliminate any remaining militants in the area.
- ▪Funeral prayers were held for the six slain soldiers, whose bodies were then sent to their hometowns.
- ▪The clash occurred as Pakistan continues a counterterrorism campaign called Azm-i-Istehkam approved by the federal government.
- ▪This incident follows a two-pronged militant assault two days earlier near a mosque in Kohat that killed 23 people, including 17 police officers.
- ▪KP province saw a spike in militant attacks during August compared to July, according to conflict monitoring data.
Source: according to military officials
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