KHYBER AGENCY - An army lieutenant was martyred in militants’ firing from across the border at a newly built Pakistani security post in recently cleared Rajgal Valley of Tehsil Bara of Khyber Agency on Saturday.

A military statement said the attackers targeted the post Saturday morning where post commander was fatally shot.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), unidentified militants opened indiscriminate fire on the post from the Afghanistan side and as a result Lieutenant Arsalan Alam received fatal bullet wounds.

In retaliation by the Pakistan security forces, three militants were killed and two others were injured, the ISPR said. The militants took the bodies of their colleagues and fled to Afghanistan, it added.

The ISPR said that a massive search operation was launched in the area.

Lieutenant Alam had been deployed as commanding officer on the post at the Pak-Afghan border in the hilly area of Rajgal. He was 22 years old.

The army recently cleared the Rajgal Valley along the border in the Khyber Agency and established a number of border posts to check cross-border movement.

Militants who had sanctuaries in the valley and other adjoining tribal regions have escaped across the porous border. They often strike from inside Afghanistan and sometimes cross the border to hit Pakistani forces.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday expressed deep grief over the martyrdom of Lt Arsalan Alamm.

In a statement issued by the PM Office in Islamabad, the prime minister said the war against terrorism, in fact, is a war of our existence as a sovereign nation.

“Our valiant forces have inflicted huge damage upon terrorist elements but at the same time have rendered huge sacrifices in doing so. Each drop of blood of our heroes is a testament to the fact that we all are united as a nation to cleanse our beloved motherland from terrorist elements,” the prime minister remarked.