At least 13 terrorists, who attacked multiple security checkpoints, were also killed during the midnight clashes.
According to the sources, six security checkpoints of Spalga, Gosh, Tappi, Barwana, Pipana Lower and Pipana Top were simultaneously attacked by terrorists, armed with light and heavy weapons, on Sunday night. The attack was effectively countered by soldiers deployed at the checkpoints, the sources said.
Security forces managed to kill 13 terrorists while several others were reportedly injured, the sources said, adding that the remaining terrorists managed to flee under the cover of darkness with the bodies of their fellows.
Coordinated attacks on six checkpoints
countered; 13 terrorists killed, sources say
However, during the exchange of fire, four security personnel embraced martyrdom, while 13 sustained injuries.
The martyred and injured security personnel were shifted to Miramshah headquarters hospital, while the ones critically wounded were referred to the Combined Military Hospital in Bannu.
Meanwhile, additional troops arrived in the area and started a search operation to trace the terrorists, the sources said.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has not released any statement on the attack till the filing of this report.
Security personnel have repeatedly been attacked by terrorists in North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, over the past few months.
Only last week, two soldiers were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into their convoy in the Eidak area.
At least 10 people, including two civilians, were injured in the attack, which destroyed the vehicle completely.
Earlier on Feb 24, four security personnel were martyred in an attack on a checkpoint in Spinwam tehsil of North Waziristan.
The early morning attack was retaliated by security forces, leading to a heavy exchange of fire.
Security officials have also claimed foreign interference in these attacks.
Last month, ISPR said that an Afghan national who was involved in terrorism inside Pakistan was killed during an operation in North Waziristan. Security forces have intensified operations against terrorists in the district.
On Feb 28, ISPR said six terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in the Ghulam Khan Kalay area.
During the counter-terrorism operations in February, 156 terrorists were killed and 66 were arrested, the highest since the December 2023 figure of 139.
Most of these arrests, 50, were made from the erstwhile Fata region, while 16 from Punjab.
