Pakistan PM condemns killing of two soldiers in northwest, vows to wipe out militancy

In this handout photo, taken and released by Prime Minister Office, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs meeting to monitor the rain and flood situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at the Governor House in Peshawar on March 6, 2024. (Photo courtesy: PMO)

• A vehicle-borne bomber exploded himself near a convoy of security forces in the Dera Ismail Khan district
• No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Pakistani Taliban have previously claimed attacks in region

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday condemned the killing of two Pakistani soldiers in a suicide attack in the country’s northwest and promised to wipe out militancy, Pakistani state media reported.
The soldiers were killed after a vehicle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself near a convoy of security forces in the Dera Ismail Khan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban have claimed previous attacks on security forces in the northwestern region.
Denouncing the attack, PM Sharif expressed his unwavering resolve to wipe out militancy from the South Asian country, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The war against terrorism will continue until the menace is completely eradicated from the country,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying in the report.
The attack came amid a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan. Violence initially picked up after the Pakistani Taliban called off their fragile, months-long truce in Nov. 2022.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are a separate group that has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
On Monday, Pakistan targeted TTP hideouts in Afghanistan, drawing condemnations from Kabul.
Pakistan says Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are giving shelter to TTP fighters across the unruly border. The Afghan Taliban government insists it doesn’t allow anyone to use Afghan soil for violence in any country.