(Clockwise) Lt Col Ali Shoukat, Lance Naik Muhammad Ullah, Lance Naik Yusaf Ali, Lance Naik Shahid Ullah, Lance Naik Akhtar Zaman, Sepoy Jameel Ahmed. ISPR photo

Militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in a shootout, the army said Saturday, the latest unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan where armed groups including the Pakistani Taliban are active.

The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district, according to an army statement on Saturday. It said six militants also were killed.

In a statement, the military's media wing said that the exchange of fire between the two sides took place on the night between Oct.4-5, during which "six Khwarij" were also killed.

"Lt Col Muhammad Ali Shaukat was leading the operation against the khwarij when he and five soldiers were martyred as a result of intense exchange of fire,"  the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated.

The martyred soldiers were identified as Lance Naik Muhammad Ullah, Lance Naik Yusaf Ali, Lance Naik Shahid Ullah, Lance Naik Akhtar Zaman and Sepoy Jameel Ahmed.

"Security forces are determined to eradicate the menace of terrorism. Sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our determination," the military's media wing added. 

The army said a separate operation killed two militants in Swat, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One of them was said to be involved in an attack on a convoy of foreign ambassadors in the area earlier this month.

According to a media report, a total of 45 terrorist attacks took place across Pakistan in September 2024, reflecting about 24 per cent decline from the month before.

These attacks resulted in 54 fatalities (29 security personnel, 16 civilians and nine militants), compared to 84 last month, and injuries to another 117 people.

These statistics were provided in the Pak Institute for Peace Studies’ (PIPS) monthly security report of Pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) suffered the most as 27 terrorist incidents occurred across the province, followed by 17 in Balochistan and one in Punjab.

The report said that 27 terrorist attacks in KP claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded 70 others.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Gul Bahadur Group, Daesh-Khorasan and a few local Taliban groups were involved in these attacks.

No terrorist attack was recorded in any part of Sindh in September 2024. However, one reported attack in Punjab injured one policeman. A total of five attacks were recorded from across Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

However, in its last report, the PIP said that Pakistan continued to experience increased terrorist attacks as a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred across the country in August 2024 compared to 38 such attacks in the previous month.

These incidents included 29 attacks in KP, 28 in Balochistan and two in Punjab, killing 84 people and 166 others injured.

Balochistan experienced 28 terrorist incidents during August 2024, which resulted in 57 deaths and injuries to another 84 people. Most of these terrorism-related casualties in the province resulted from the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) orchestrated attacks on August 26 in over seven districts of the province targeting security forces, non-Baloch people (mainly Punjabis) and national infrastructure.

In KP, 29 terrorist attacks took place, claiming 25 lives and wounding 80 others. The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Lashkar-e-Islam, Daesh-Khorasan and a few local Taliban groups reportedly carried out these attacks.