Eleven Pakistani soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, have been killed during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district, the Pakistani military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operation was launched late on Tuesday after reports of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the area.
The statement said “nineteen militants were killed due to effective engagement by troops.” The claim could not be independently verified.
Among the dead were Lt Col Junaid Arif, 39, and Maj Tayyab Rahat, 33, both from Rawalpindi. They were leading their troops when the clash took place, the statement added.
The other nine slain soldiers were identified as: Naib Subedar Azam Gul (38, District Khyber), Naik Adil Hussain (35, District Kurram), Naik Gul Ameer (34, District Tank), Lance Naik Sher Khan (31, District Mardan), Lance Naik Talish Faraz (32, District Mansehra), Lance Naik Irshad Hussain (32, District Kurram), Sepoy Tufail Khan (28, District Malakand), Sepoy Aqib Ali (23, District Swabi), and Sepoy Muhammad Zahid (24, District Tank).
A “sanitisation operation” is continuing to clear the area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It added that the military remained “determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”
Local reports said the incident began when the Jogi checkpoint in the Marghan area came under attack on Monday.
The following day, a Frontier Corps wing commander — a lieutenant colonel-ranked officer — visited the post to assess the situation. On his return, one of the convoys providing road protection was ambushed.
The officer reportedly turned back to assist his men but was surrounded by militants. The fighting, which began on Tuesday evening, continued for several hours into Wednesday morning.
At least six soldiers are missing and two others were injured, local sources said.
There has been a surge in armed attacks targeting Pakistani military and intelligence personnel in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
On Tuesday night, armed men attacked a Pakistani army camp in Balgatar, Panjgur district of Balochistan. Local sources said heavy exchanges of fire and multiple explosions were heard for more than two hours.
The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) later claimed responsibility. The group said its fighters surrounded the camp along the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route and took control of the camp after intense fighting.
A detailed statement about the operation would be issued soon, the BLF said.
Meanwhile, a report by Sagaar Media, which monitors the activities of Baloch armed groups, said the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out 47 attacks in September, killing 115 security personnel and injuring 61 others.