Pakistani security forces killed nine militants in two operations in the country's restive northwest, the military said on Sunday, as Islamabad presses a counterterrorism campaign against groups it accuses Afghanistan of harboring.
The raids were conducted in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing.
Four militants were killed during a raid on a hideout in Dera Ismail Khan following an intense exchange of fire. A separate operation in Bannu killed five more.
The military described the militants as members of Fitna al-Khwarij, a term the state uses for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. It said those killed were involved in attacks on security forces and targeted killings of civilians. Weapons and ammunition were recovered.
The ISPR said sanitization operations are ongoing and reaffirmed the military's commitment to Pakistan's "Azm-e-Istehkam" counterterrorism campaign to eradicate what it calls foreign-sponsored terrorism.
Rising tensions
The operations came as Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir warned Afghanistan it must choose between Pakistan and the TTP.
Speaking at a religious scholars' conference in Islamabad broadcast on television Sunday, Munir said 70% of militants in TTP formations operating from Afghanistan were Afghan nationals.
Once longtime allies, Pakistan and Afghanistan have engaged in intermittent border skirmishes since October. Three rounds of peace talks hosted by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Kabul denies backing the militants, calling Pakistan's security an internal matter.
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