North Waziristan [Pakistan], September 7 : Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in North Waziristan on Tuesday. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media affairs wing of Pakistan’s military, said that security forces were conducting a clearance operation in the district’s Dosalli area when the IED exploded, Dawn reported. As a result, 25-year-old Sepoy Zia Akram and 20-year-old Sepoy Musawwar Khan were killed, it said. Pakistan Army troops immediately cordoned off the area to apprehend the terrorists who had planted the IED, the statement said. During intense exchange of fire, one of the terrorists, who were trying to flee, was killed, it added. There has been an uptick in attacks on security forces in recent months. Attacks on security forces have increased in North Waziristan and adjacent South Waziristan tribal districts since the Taliban intensified offensive against the government forces across the border in Afghanistan. Pakistan, which shares over a 2,600 km long border with Afghanistan, fears that intensification of violence in the war-torn country can have a spillover effect pushing refugees and terrorists into Pakistan.
