Pakistan: Soldier killed, seven injured in landmine explosion, subsequent attack by militants

A soldier was killed and seven others were injured in a landmine explosion and subsequent attack by armed militants in the Jiwani area of Pakistan’s Gwadar district, Dawn newspaper reported.

Coast Guard personnel were travelling in their vehicle when it hit a landmine in the Duran area on Saturday, according to officials.

Post the blast, the vehicle was ambushed by armed men on motorcycles who opened fire. The soldier killed has been identified as Sameer.

A senior police officer at the Jiwani police station, Hafiz Baloch said those injured were moved to a nearby hospital.

A search operation has been launched in the area to arrest the attackers, Dawn newspaper reported.

A Levies soldier and a police constable were killed last week in two separate armed attacks in Bolan and Kalat areas.

In the first attack, unidentified armed men opened fire on a check post of Levies Force, killing soldier Khalid Hussain Kurd, Dawn newspaper reported.

In the second attack, armed miscreants on motorcycles opened indiscriminate fire on a police patrol vehicle at the main highway near the Mughalzai area. Three policemen were injured in the attack, while constable Nazeer Ahmed Bangulzai was killed.

Earlier, four people whom the officials called “terrorists” were killed while one Pakistani soldier died during an intelligence-based operation in the Bannu’s Jani Khel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Dawn.

According to Dawn, citing a press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations, the troops “effectively engage[d]” the terrorists’ location and an “intense fire exchange” took place during which 25-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Waseem, a resident of Khairpur, fought “gallantly” and was killed.

Meanwhile, the terrorists killed had remained “actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and killing of innocent citizens”, Dawn quoted ISPR as saying, adding that weapons and ammunition were recovered from them.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said. (ANI)