4 soldiers martyred in terrorist attack on checkpost in South Waziristan: ISPR

Four soldiers were martyred after terrorist's opened fire on a security forces post in Makeen, South Waziristan, late Thursday night, the military's media affairs wing said on Friday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that troops responded promptly and killed four terrorists. "During the exchange of fire, four soldiers embraced shahadat," the statement added.

The martyred officials were identified as Lance Naik Imran Ali, Sepoy Atif Jahangir, Sepoy Aneesur Rehman and Sepoy Aziz. "Area sanitisation in progress," the ISPR statement said. President Dr Arif Alvi condemned the terrorist attack and expressed grief over the martyrdom of army personnel. He also sympathised with the bereaved families and prayed for their strength so they can bear the loss with fortitude.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari offered condolences for the martyred officials and expressed solidarity with their families.

"The sacrifices of our martyrs will not be forgotten," he said, adding that implementation of the National Action Plan was essential for rooting out terrorists and their facilitators.

Earlier this month, four terrorists were killed during an exchange of fire with security forces in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan tribal district. According to the ISPR, security forces observed presence of terrorists in a compound in Mir Ali. As soon as the troops cordoned off the area, terrorists opened fire. During the intense exchange of fire, four terrorists were killed.

The ISPR said that these terrorists were involved in kidnapping for ransom, extortion, raids on security forces and IED explosions. During the conduct of the operation, Naib Subedar Amin Ullah, 42, a resident of Chitral, and sepoy Sher Zamin, 24, a resident of Landi Kotal, embraced martyrdom. Four other soldiers were injured, the ISPR said.