Six soldiers, including a captain, were killed in an armed confrontation between the Pakistani security forces and the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan, the ISPR has confirmed.
According to reports, the security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation in Boyya, North Waziristan, where they clashed with the Taliban militants. Four Taliban were killed in the confrontation, while the security forces sustained six casualties, including a captain, and multiple injuries.
ISPR identified the slain Pakistani soldiers as Captain Abdul Wali, Nawaz, Ghulam Ali, Ilyas and Zafar Ullah.
The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also confirmed the operation in a media statement, saying the forces attacked the Taliban hideout in Boya and were met with heavily armed resistance, resulting in the death of five soldiers.
The TTP acknowledged the death of its two fighters, Rahmani and Huzaifa.
It is pertinent to mention that the TTP and the Pakistani government have been embroiled in a years-long war. The Taliban have carried out multiple attacks in different areas of Pakistan, killing hundreds of civilians and leaving countless others with crippling injuries. The government, for its part, has carried out a brutal military operation in North Waziristan and FATA to root out the Taliban once and forever. These operations have had their success and downsides, and people on the receiving end of armed warfare have mostly been civilians.
The TTP and the government negotiated a ceasefire a few weeks ago, but there have been a few skirmishes. The Taliban released statements claiming the military is not holding onto its end of the bargain. They said that despite the ceasefire, the Pakistani forces have launched attacks on TTP hideouts and killed several Taliban fighters.
The Taliban vowed they would take arms once again to “defend” themselves, and that they did. The Taliban fighters attacked the police and the security forces in several attacks in the past few days.