Pakistan’s military said on Thursday security forces killed 23 militants during a series of intelligence-based operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as Islamabad intensifies its campaign against armed groups operating near the Afghan border.
The operations were carried out over the last 48 hours in Datta Khel, Spinwam and Bannu districts, the military’s media wing said in a statement, adding that troops had engaged multiple militant locations in “intense and fierce exchanges of fire.”
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan, following the return of the Taliban to power in Kabul in 2021.
Islamabad says militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it refers to as “Fitna Al-Khwarij,” operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and launch cross-border attacks into Pakistan, allegations the Taliban-led Afghan government denies.
Pakistan also accuses India of backing anti-Pakistan militant groups operating in the region, a charge New Delhi rejects.
“Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, twenty three more khwarij belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khwarij including kharji Ring leader Jan Meer alias Toor Saqib have been neutralized,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It said Meer was wanted by Pakistani authorities for alleged involvement in attacks that killed security personnel and civilians.
The military said security forces recovered weapons, ammunition, explosives and improvised explosive devices from the militants during the operations.
It also said troops uncovered and destroyed underground tunnel systems and bunkers allegedly used by militant networks in the area.
Pakistan’s military said “sanitization operations” were continuing to clear the areas of remaining militants.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has remained the epicenter of Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations for years, with districts near the Afghan border frequently witnessing clashes between security forces and militants.
Source: Arab News
