Twenty-seven Pakistani Taliban militants were killed in multiple intelligence-based operations in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military said on Sunday, amid a surge in militancy in the region.
KP, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in violence, with the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other militant groups frequently targeting security convoys and checkpoints.
Security forces engaged multiple TTP locations in KP’s North Waziristan district in continuation of a series of intelligence-based operations, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
“Following intense fierce exchanges of fire, in last seventy-two hours, twenty-seven khwarij (militants) belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khwarij (TTP) have been sent to hell,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Weapons and ammunition have also been recovered from killed Indian sponsored Khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities and target killing of innocent civilians.”
New Delhi did not immediately respond to the statement.
Dozens of militants, security personnel, police and civilians have been killed in militant attacks and counter-insurgency operations in KP in recent months.
Islamabad accuses India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for cross-border attacks in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan. New Delhi and Kabul deny this.
“Sanitization operations continue to eliminate holed up khwarij (militants) from these areas,” the ISPR said. “Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”
Source: Arab News
