Eight people, including five security officials and three children, were killed in three separate incidents in the Lakki Marwat, North, and South Waziristan districts on July 9.
A military officer was martyred in a firefight with militants in North Waziristan, while three soldiers were killed in an attack in South Waziristan that also left 12 others injured. Separately, a police officer and his three minor nephews were killed in Lakki Marwat district.
Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad, 24, from Rawalpindi, was martyred during an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in North Waziristan, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The security forces successfully targeted and killed two militants in the gunfight. A sanitization operation is ongoing to clear the area of remaining militants. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR stated. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur expressed their grief over Captain Osama’s martyrdom.
In South Waziristan, three soldiers were martyred during an intense exchange of fire with militants. The soldiers were identified as Sepoy Asadullah, 30, from Matiari district; Sepoy Muhammad Sufyan, 28, from Dera Ismail Khan district; and Non-Combatant Bearer Zain Ali, 24, from Bahawalnagar district.
In Lakki Marwat, four family members, including a police officer, were killed and a minor was injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on their vehicle near Kurram Bridge on the Indus Highway, within the jurisdiction of Dadiwala police station. “Head Constable Saadullah and his family were travelling to Peshawar from Titterkhel for medical treatment,” an official said. The attackers emerged suddenly and sprayed the car with bullets, injuring the police officer and his three nephews. Two women in the vehicle were unharmed.
Constable Saadullah, 37, and his nephews — Abdul Rehman, 8; Sufyan, 12; and Sayyam, 12 — succumbed to their injuries on the way to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Serai Naurang town. Another injured minor, Farmanullah, was transferred to a hospital in Peshawar. Constable Saadullah, stationed at the Shaheed Haibat Ali Khan Police Station in Darra Pezu town, hailed from Titterkhel town.
Following the incident, a large police contingent arrived at the scene and launched a search operation for the attackers. Counterterrorism department personnel and investigation experts collected evidence at the crime scene. Saadullah’s body was taken to the police lines for a funeral prayer before being transported to Titterkhel for burial with full official honours. The attack occurred near a dense forest along the Kurram River, known locally as ‘Darga’.
In another incident, three women were injured when a mortar shell struck a police officer’s house in Tappi, North Waziristan. Police reported that the injured women were taken to the hospital for treatment.
July 10,2024
Source: Dawn