Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout
People try to cross through shipping containers set up by authorities to prevent supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a rally to demand his release in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/K.M. Chaudary
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in a shootout, the army said Saturday, the latest unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan where armed groups including the Pakistani Taliban are active.
The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district on Saturday, according to an army statement. It said six militants also were killed.
The army said a separate operation killed two militants in Swat, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One of them was said to be involved in an attack on a convoy of foreign ambassadors in the area earlier this month.
Also Saturday, cellphone services remained suspended in Islamabad as it entered a second day of a lockdown aimed at thwarting rallies in support of ex-leader Imran Khan. He is in prison on multiple charges.
Shipping containers blocked off the city’s entry and exit points, but videos from Khan’s PTI party showed supporters piled into vehicles and attempted to head toward Islamabad.
The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, and others in the convoy worked throughout the night to remove shipping containers from the road, according to the party.
The PTI later said that security forces arrested Gandapur for entering Islamabad in defiance of a ban on rallies. Police and officials did not immediately confirm the arrest.
Police officers stand guard next to shipping containers set up by authorities to block a road leading to important government buildings in an attempt to prevent supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/K.M. Chaudary
Clashes broke out between Khan supporters and security forces in D-Chowk, which is close to several key government buildings including Parliament and the Supreme Court.
The PTI also said it planned to hold a rally in Lahore.
As well as grappling with political instability arising from confrontations with Khan's party, Pakistani authorities are struggling to contain violence in southwestern Balochistan province, where a blast killed three security personnel and injured four others on Saturday.
Police official Habib ur Rahman said members of the Frontier Corps were on a routine patrol in Kalat district, around 160 kilometers (44 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta, when a homemade bomb was remotely detonated.
Shipping containers set up by authorities block a road, preventing the supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding a rally to demand his release in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/K.M. Chaudary
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
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'Almost nearly eliminate your risk' Long Island sisters Amy Lynn and Danielle Safaty each had both breasts removed in their 20s, before they had any signs of breast cancer. Newsday family reporter Beth Whitehouse reports.
