Militants Gun Down Pakistani Soldier Near Afghan Border

World

December 26th, 11:12am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A Pakistani soldier stands guard at Pak-Afghan border after it remain closed due to coronavirus, in Chaman, Pakistan, 20 March 2020. Reports state the number of cases infected with coronavirus Covid-19 in Pakistan increased to 478. EPA/AKHTAR GULFAM

Militants targeted an army post in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, killing a soldier in a firefight overnight, Pakistan’s military said. The attack took place in the Shewa area of the district of North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said in a statement Saturday. According to The Associated Press, no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The military said that during an intense exchange of gunfire a soldier was killed. It said a search of the area was being carried out to find the militants. No additional details were released. North Waziristan served as a militant stronghold for decades. The military carried out a full-fledged offensive in the region after an army run school was attacked in December 2014 in the provincial capital of Peshawar. The attack killed more than 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3379596/militants-gun-down-pakistani-soldier-near-afghan-border