Two soldiers killed during military operation in Pakistan’s northwest: Army

An explosive-laden motorcycle rammed vehicle in security forces convoy, military says.Published On 21 Feb 2026Two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, have been killed during a Military Operation when a fighter driving an explosive-laden motorcycle rammed a security convoy vehicle in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province near the border with Afghanistan, according to the country’s army.The deadly clash took place on Saturday in KP’s Bannu district, with the Pakistani military saying at least five armed fighters, including one it described as “a suicide bomber” were also killed during the operation.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Pakistan ramps up military operations amid surge in violent attackslist 2 of 3Bomb kills three Pakistani police officers close to Afghan borderlist 3 of 3More than a dozen killed in bomb blasts, gunfire in Pakistan’s northwestend of listThe military said that the bomber was stopped by the leading security team, preventing his attempt to attack civilians and law enforcement personnel and averting “a major catastrophe”.The army referred to the fighters as “khawarij” – the term it uses for banned groups, including the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration in Kabul of providing refuge to the TTP, a banned Pakistani group separate from but linked to the Afghan Taliban, though Kabul has denied the allegations.The two countries had previously clashed in a brief border conflict in October last year.“Pakistan will not exercise any restrain and operations would continue against the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act for justified retribution against khwarij, irrespective of their location,” the statement said.“Such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” it said.