Major-General Sanaullah and two others died in an IED attack in Pakistan's restive northwest region
A roadside bomb blast killed two senior military officials in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern region on Sunday, a day after the government announced an army pullout from the area.
“Major-General Sanaullah and Lieutenant-Colonel Tauseef have been killed in an improvised explosive device [IED] blast near the Pak-Afghan border in Upper Dir area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” a statement released by the army’s Inter-Services Public Relation department said.
The victims were inspecting an army post near the border over the last two days and were on their way back when the IED, planted at the roadside, exploded. The officers' driver was also killed.
In separate attacks, Taliban militants killed three more troops in the lawless North Waziristan tribal agency.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of various militant outfits, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The killing of high ranking officials comes less than a week after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hosted an all-party conference in Islamabad and announced holding peace talks with the militants groups. The TTP had welcomed the offer.