Roadside blast kills 2 troops in northwest Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - A roadside explosion killed at least two army troops, and injured another three in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region on Wednesday, the military said.

The explosion took place in far-flung Dattakhel town of restive North Waziristan tribal region near Afghanistan border when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a track went off near a security vehicle, said a statement by Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of Pakistan army.

The three injured were shifted to a military hospital, the statement added.

The blast -- latest in a string of attacks on security forces in the region -- occurred days after the country’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, including North Waziristan were merged with neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province following a long demanded legislation by the parliament.

The legislation has brought an end to a 20th century British colonial law, under which the region had been governed for nearly 150 years.

North Waziristan has been a battleground between the army and the Taliban since June 2014 following a full-scale military onslaught that has killed over 5,000 suspected militants, according to the military.

Over 700 soldiers have also lost their lives in landmine blasts and clashes with the Taliban during this period, it said.

The military operation had also displaced one million tribesmen from North Waziristan. Of them, according to the government, 95 percent have returned to their homes.