Terrorist eliminated, soldier martyred during security operation in Zhob

A soldier was martyred and two others were wounded during heavy cross-fire with militants in a security operation in Balochistan's Zhob area, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Sunday.

A statement issued by the military's media wing said that the operation had been launched in Zhob for the last 96 hours aims "to deny the terrorists' use of a few suspected routes to move across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to sneak into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along the interprovincial boundary and target citizens and security forces."

ISPR said that the armed forces intercepted a group of terrorists amid continuous surveillance and sanitisation of the area.

"As a result of continuous surveillance and sanitisation of the area, a group of the terrorists was intercepted in the early hours today," the statement read.

However, the terrorists opened fire at the armed forces "during the establishment of blocking positions to deny them escape routes".

In the ensuing heavy exchange of fire, one of the terrorists was killed while Sepoy Haq Nawaz embraced shahadat and two other soldiers got injured. 

"The terrorists were supported by their facilitators from across the border as well through the fire," added the statement.

The sanitation operation continues in the area to apprehend the remaining perpetrators, it said.