Pakistani forces kill 13 militants in northwest border operations

Pakistani security forces killed 13 militants in two operations this week in the country's restive northwest, near the border with Afghanistan, the military said Sunday.

The operations took place Thursday and Friday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing.

Seven militants were killed in Mohmand district after forces raided a hideout, ISPR said. A separate operation in Bannu district killed six more.

The military described the militants as members of Fitna al-Khwarij, a term the state uses for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which it says is backed by Afghanistan.

Islamabad routinely accuses Kabul of sponsoring militant activity across the border, a charge the Taliban deny.

Security forces are conducting follow-up operations to clear the areas, ISPR said.

Balancing act

The TTP unilaterally ended a ceasefire in November 2022, and violence has escalated sharply since then, with most attacks occurring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern province of Balochistan, often targeting law enforcement personnel.

As of mid-September, Pakistani forces had conducted more than 10,000 operations this year, killing 970 militants. The campaign has come at a cost: 311 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in the same period.