ISLAMABAD: At least 22 Pakistani Taliban militants were killed in a joint intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Friday, in the latest incident in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militant attacks in KP, particularly by the Pakistani Taliban, who have mounted assaults since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The operation by security forces and police was conducted in Khyber district on reported presence of Pakistani Taliban, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from deceased “Indian-sponsored” militants, who remained actively involved in numerous “terrorist activities” in the area. New Delhi did not immediately respond.
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement, adding that indiscriminate firing by the militants also killed a 10-year-old child.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have also been locked in conflict for months over a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s western region that border Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s security forces killed two militants, including a suicide bomber, in KP’s Bannu district, the military’s media wing said.
