• ISPR says two militants killed, four injured in exchange of fire in Tirah valley
• Clearance of Swat counterterrorism facility underway

KHYBER/PESHAWAR: Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred during a gunfight with militants in Khyber district’s Tirah valley, an area bordering Afghanistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.

The clash took place late on Tuesday night, and two militants were also killed and four others were injured in the intense exchange of fire.

“On April 25, 2023, an exchange of fire took place between our troops and terrorists in general area Tirah, Khyber district. Our troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The military has identified the martyred soldiers as Sepoy Waqas Ali Shah, 26, a resident of Charsadda district, and Sepoy Basit Ali, 24, a resident of Peshawar district.

It said weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed militants, adding that the security forces were combing the area for other militants.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it read.

According to local sources, militants carried out the armed attack from across the border on an army camp set up in the Tor Darra locality of Kukikhel area, close to the Afghan border.

They said that the military camp was a large facility covering a vast area to keep a close check on the border since Tor Darra and the surrounding areas — with forests and mountains — were once inhabited by militants before border fencing and military offensives against the militants.

CTD building clearance

Meanwhile, armed forces’ technical experts and urban search and rescue teams have cleared 70 per cent of the collapsed building of a counterterrorism facility in Swat’s Kabal town. The facility was struck on Monday by twin blasts, which were linked to an electrical short circuit at a munitions warehouse, according to a preliminary police investigation.

Officials said the teams were working round the clock and were defusing the ammunition under the debris of the collapsed building, adding that the building’s ground and first floors were cleared.

“The clearance phase of the basement of the collapsed building is underway and this will continue till clearance of the entire area [the collapsed structure],” a senior official privy to the developments told Dawn, adding that five vehicles were recovered from the debris.

At least 17 people — nine officers, three civilians and five recently detained militants who were being held there for investigation — were killed in the explosions and 70 people injured, mostly police officers.

On Tuesday, the KP police linked the incident to a short circuit, ruling out a militant attack, as initially suggested. The provincial caretaker government also formed a two-member fact-finding committee to investigate the incident.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023