DID Press: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 18 militants in separate counterterrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to Pakistani security sources.
The sources said 13 militants affiliated with Fitna al-Khawarij, the term used by Pakistan for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed during an operation targeting militant hideouts in North Waziristan and surrounding areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a separate operation in Mastung district of Balochistan, security forces killed five militants affiliated with Fitna al-Hindustan, according to the same sources. Pakistan uses the term for Balochistan-based militant groups that it accuses of being backed by India.
The security sources also said weapons and ammunition were recovered during the operations and that clearance operations were continuing in the affected areas to locate any remaining militants.
The operations come amid heightened militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism operations in both provinces in recent weeks, while tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have also escalated over accusations of cross-border militancy. Pakistan says militants based in Afghanistan pose a security threat, while the Taliban denies allowing Afghan territory to be used against other countries.