Pakistan: Six soldiers killed in Waziristan gunbattle

Six soldiers and three militants were killed during a gunbattle in North Waziristan, near the Pak-Afghan border, the military’s media wing confirmed on Thursday, Dawn reported.
The security forces had launched an operation on the intelligence reports about the presence of militants in the area, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Security forces claimed to have killed a high-profile militant in an undercover operation in Dera Ismail Khan. A police officer, SDPO Abid Iqbal, was also injured during the operation.
The exchange of fire took place in the Dirdoni area of Tehsil Ghulam Khan as security forces closed in on the militants’ location, Dawn reported.
The forces gunned down three alleged terrorists while two were injured.
A sanitisation operation was underway to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, the statement added.
The militant, identified as Muhammad Iqbal alias Bali Khiyara, was wanted for numerous acts of terrorism including the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009, and was killed along with his associate.
A senior police official told Dawn that around 21 cases related to sectarian killings in KP and Punjab were also registered against the deceased militant.
He was initially associated with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi but later joined the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which confirmed Khiyara’s killing