TALIBAN KILL PAKISTANI SOLDIERS IN GUN BATTLE
Pakistan’s Taliban has accused the military of breaking a fragile ceasefire after the army said five soldiers and at least four fighters died in a gun battle in the country’s northwest.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) declared an indefinite ceasefire in June to facilitate peace talks being brokered by the Afghan Taliban, but there have been regular clashes since then despite both sides saying the truce was still on.
In the latest clash on Monday, the Pakistan military said it raided a hideout in Boyya, North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, following an intelligence tip-off.
“Intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists,” the military’s public relations wing said in a statement.
It said four fighters were killed, and five soldiers, including an officer, “embraced martyrdom”. On Tuesday a TTP commander confirmed the clash and accused the government of bad faith, saying troops had attacked them in six districts recently, including Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
