Peshawar: Three Pakistani soldiers were killed in an ambush in Peshawar city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province yesterday in an attack, for which both the Islamic State and Jamaatul Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, have claimed responsibility. Senior police officer Shaukat Khan said the gunmen struck in Garhi Sohbat Khan on the outskirts of Peshawar, attacking a private vehicle carrying the three soldiers, reports the New York Times.
The Pakistan army often uses unmarked vehicles for transportation of soldiers and other employees in volatile areas around Peshawar to avoid being identified and attacked.Jamaatul Ahrar spokesman said in a statement that the three soldiers were targeted by the group to avenge the "military`s animosity with mosques.
"Islamic militants have been involved in multiple such attacks in and around Peshawar that is surrounded by lawless tribal regions.The Mohmand tribal region had been a long time hotbed for Islamic militants and the Pakistani army has carried out several operations to eliminate militant hideouts but the militants have repeatedly struck back.
Jamaat-ur-Ahrar at one time also swore fealty to the Islamic State`s Middle East leadership, but later switched back to the Taliban.Earlier both the groups had also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a hospital in the Pakistani city of Quetta that killed 74 people last month.
