Six Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred during an exchange of fire with militants in the Dir Duni area of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army’s media affairs wing said on Thursday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that an exchange of fire took place between terrorists and Pakistani army troops on May 4 (today).

“Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and three terrorists were sent to hell, while injuring another two,” the ISPR statement said.

However, six soldiers were martyred during the “intense exchange of fire”. The deceased were identified as 36-year-old Havaldar Saleem Khan, 37-year-old Naik Javed lqbal, 26-year-old Sepoy Nazir Khan, 25-year-old Sepoy Hazrat Bilal, 22-year-old Sepoy Syed Rajab Hussain and 22-year-old Sepoy Bismillah Jan.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. [The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR said.

In a tweet later today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief at the martyrdom of the soldiers and extended condolences to the grieving families.

“No matter how long the battle, our valiant armed forces, with the support of the nation, will root out terrorism in its entirety,” he said.

“The supreme sacrifices by our security forces, police & intelligence community are a show of our unwavering national resolve to protect the motherland from the scourge of terrorism & militancy,” the premier added.

The attack comes amid a surge in terrorist activities across the country, especially in KP and Balochistan, since the outlawed militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November.

In his maiden press briefing last month, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that at least 293 people were martyred and 521 were injured in 436 terrorist incidents over the past year.

In KP, 192 people were martyred in 219 terror activities, while 80 people lost lives in 206 incidents in Balochistan, 14 people in five attacks in Punjab, and seven in six terrorism incidents across Sindh.

He had said that the army and law enforcement agencies carried out 8,269 intelligence-based operations during the previous year in which 1,378 suspected terrorists were apprehended and 157 were killed.

The DG ISPR had also said that overall 137 security personnel were martyred and 117 injured in anti-terror operations in the ongoing year.