ISPR says 13 security personnel martyred in North Waziristan blast

RAWALPINDI: Thirteen security personnel embraced martyrdom while three innocent civilians, including two children and a woman severely injured in a suicide attack in North Waziristan, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the military’s media wing, the cowardly attack – which targeted a security forces convoy in general area Mir Ali, North Waziristan district – was “planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India, and executed by its proxy Fitna al Khwarij.”

“A vehicle borne suicide bomber attempted to explode himself on a security forces convoy, who was intercepted by the leading group, foiling his nefarious design,” the ISPR said.

“However”, it added, “in their desperation, an explosive laden vehicle was rammed by the Indian sponsored Kharjis into one of the vehicles of the leading group.”

As a result of the blast, the ISPR said, “thirteen brave sons of soil, embraced Shahadat.”

In this tragic and barbaric incident, three innocent civilians, including two children and a woman also got severely injured, the statement added.

Details of the martyrs

1. Subedar Zahid Iqbal (age: 45 years, resident of District Karak)
2. Havildar Sohrab Khan (age: 39 years, resident of District Naseerabad)
3. Havildar Mian Yousaf (age: 41 years, resident of District Buner)
4. Naik Khitab Shah (age: 34 years, resident of District Lower Dir)
5. Lance Naik Ismail (age: 32 years, resident of District Naseerabad)
6. Sepoy Rohail (age: 30 years, resident of District Mirpur Khas)
7. Sepoy Muhammad Ramzan (age: 33 years, resident of Dera Ghazi Khan)
8. Sepoy Nawab (age: 30 years, resident of District Quetta)
9. Sepoy Zubair Ahmed (age: 24 years, resident of District Naseerabad)
10. Sepoy Muhammad Sahki (age: 31 years, resident of District Dera Ghazi Khan)
11. Sepoy Hashim Abbasi (age: 20 years, resident of District Abbotabad)
12. Sepoy Muddasir Ejaz (age: 25 years, resident of District Layyah)
13. Sepoy Manzar Ali (age: 23 years, resident of District Mardan)

Forces killed 14 terrorists

The ISPR said that in the ensuing sanitization operations, khwarij terrorists were pursued and after intense fire exchange, 14 of them were “sent to hell by the security forces”.

Pakistan armed forces vowed in its statement that the “operations in the area would continue and perpetrators of this henious and cowardly act will be brought to justice.”

“The security forces of Pakistan in step with nation remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate Indian sponsored terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers and innocent civilians further reinforce our unwavering commitment of safeguarding our nation at all costs.”

‘It was huge, a big bang’

Earlier in the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement that at least eight security personnel were martyred in the suicide attack.

The statement said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur strongly condemned the attack, which took place in the Mir Ali area, and expressed condolences to the families of the martyrs. “I salute the brave security personnel and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country,” he said.

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Meanwhile, the local administrator told Reuters that “it was huge, a big bang,” adding that residents of the town could see a large amount of smoke billowing from the scene from a great distance.

One resident said that the explosion rattled the windowpanes of nearby houses, and caused some roofs to collapse.

The suicide attack comes just days after an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan in which two soldiers were martyred and 11 militants were killed.

According to the ISPR, the IBO was carried out in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan, while the neutralised terrorists belonged to the Indian-backed proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij.

Security forces had also been carrying counter-terror operations in North Waziristan, including an IBO in the Datta Khel area earlier this month that eliminated 14 militants.

In another operation in surrounding areas of Hassan Khel in North Waziristan, security forces had killed 17 khawarij terrorists on April 28, “who were operating on behest of their Indian masters.”