Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in the Tirah area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber district during a gunfight with terrorists, the military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday.

The statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) identified the martyrs as 26-year-old Sepoy Waqas Ali Shah from Charsadda and 24-year-old Sepoy Basir Ali from Peshawar.

“On April 25, 2023, an exchange of fire took place between own troops and terrorists in general area Tirah, Khyber district. Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” the ISPR said.

“Resultantly, two terrorists were sent to hell and four terrorists were injured. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists,” it stated, adding that sanitisation of the area was being carried out to eliminate other militants in the area.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the military’s media wing added.

The exchange of fire comes amid a surge in terrorist activities across the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November.

In his maiden press briefing a day earlier, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry revealed that at least 293 people were martyred and 521 were injured in 436 terrorist incidents over the past year.

In KP, 192 people were martyred in 219 terror activities, while 80 people lost lives in 206 incidents in Balochistan, 14 people in five attacks in Punjab, and seven in six terrorism incidents across Sindh.

He said that the army and law enforcement agencies carried out 8,269 intelligence-based operations during the previous year in which 1,378 suspected terrorists were apprehended and 157 were killed.

The DG ISPR also said that overall 137 security personnel were martyred and 117 injured in anti-terror operations in the ongoing year.