TTP militants attack security convoy in northwest Pakistan; kill 6 soldiers

Peshawar: At least six Pakistani soldiers and four terrorists were killed on Tuesday when the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants attacked a convoy of security forces in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the military.

The attack occurred in the Asman Manza area of the South Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan when armed TTP militants opened fire at a convoy, killing six soldiers, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said.

The ISPR said that four terrorists were killed in retaliatory fire, while two were injured.

The banned TTP has accepted responsibility for the attack.

A "sanitisation operation" is underway in the area to eliminate any other terrorists, the statement said.

The TTP was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.

Recently, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorist activities orchestrated by the banned terror outfit.

Last month, two policemen were killed and as many injured when TTP militants attacked a police checkpoint in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

In February, TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.

The outfit, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

The TTP also orchestrated the heinous Army Public School attack in Peshawar in 2014, in which over 130 students were killed.