ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s military on Monday named a career army officer with experience of battling militants to head the country’s premier intelligence agency as Islamabad struggles to combat a homegrown Islamic insurgency.

Maj. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general to head the spy agency, which is known as the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI, the army said in a statement.

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