PESHAWAR: A young military officer and a soldier were martyred when terrorists opened fire on their vehicle near the Afghan border in North Waziristan Agency, the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Tuesday.

The army’s media wing identified martyred personnel as 2nd Lt Moeed and Sepoy Basharat. It said 2nd Lt Moeed, 21, had recently passed out from the Pakistan Military Academy, while Sepoy Basharat, 21, had been serving in the army for three years.

Sources in the area told Dawn that two personnel had been killed, while two others sustained injuries in the incident that took place at 11pm on Monday.

“Freedom is not free; it costs sons of the soil. Freedom that we enjoy today is owed to so many such brave hearts. Salute to our martyrs,” Chief of the Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa was quoted as saying in a tweet by the ISPR director general.

The sources said that the incident took place in the Hamzoni Patikhel area close to the Afghan border. Following the attack security forces launched a search operation in the area. Local authorities imposed a curfew in the area for an indefinite period.

The sources said that security forces conducted raids late in the night and searched houses. Residents, including women, were evacuated from their homes.

Reports suggested that security forces resumed the search operation in the area on Tuesday, rounded up around 50 people and took them to an unknown location. The entire area had been cordoned off.

North Waziristan Agency has witnessed a surge in militant attacks during the past three weeks. Six people were killed and eight others wounded in a roadside bomb blast near Mirali on Dec 5, while three children got injuries in a landmine explosion near a check-post in Miramshah on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017