Pakistani Taliban raid kills 16 soldiers

The Pakistani military on December 21 said that 16 of its soldiers died and five others were left seriously wounded after terrorists attacked an army outpost in an overnight raid, Report informs via FirstPost.

The Pakistan Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan has been battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.

Islamabad accuses Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants staging attacks on Pakistan from over the border.

The attack took place in the Makeen area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where about 30 terrorists raided an army outpost in the middle of the night. Two intelligence officers told AFP that the attack lasted for two hours.

“Sixteen soldiers were martyred and five were critically injured in the assault,” he said. “The militants set fire to the wireless communication equipment, documents and other items present at the checkpoint.”

The Pakistani Taliban – known as Tehreek–e–Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – said that the attack was in retaliation “for the martyrdom of our senior commanders”.

The group also claimed to have seized a hoard of military gear including machine guns and a night vision device.

The TTP shares its ideology with that of their Afghan counterparts who surged back to power three years ago.