ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed over 30 Pakistani Taliban militants in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan, the Pakistani military said on Thursday, hours after a ceasefire with Kabul following deadly cross-border clashes.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP in recent years, where militant groups, mainly the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have stepped up their attacks against security forces and law enforcement agencies, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of officials in recent months.
The surge in militancy last week triggered some of the deadliest cross-border clashes between the Pakistani security forces and the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing the use of their soil and India of supporting militant groups for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, said on Thursday that Pakistani forces had killed 34 militants in multiple engagements in North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Bannu districts between Oct. 12 and Oct. 15. Pakistani military separately exchanged cross-border fire with the Taliban forces on Wednesday.
