ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said it had killed 31 local Taliban militants in two separate operations near the border with Afghanistan, where the group’s presence has increased.
It comes after 12 soldiers were killed in an ambush in a neighboring district on Saturday, an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
The military said in a statement published late Monday that it had killed 31 “Khwarij” over the weekend, a recent term adopted by authorities to describe TTP fighters.
It accused archfoe India, with which Pakistan fought a four-day skirmish in May, of backing the militants.
The nuclear armed neighbors have long accused each other of backing militant forces to destabilize one another.
