Pakistani security forces kill 13 Pakistani Taliban in raid near Afghan border

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s security forces on Wednesday raided a militant hideout in the country’s restive northwest, near the Afghan border, triggering an intense shootout that left 13 Pakistani Taliban fighters dead, the military said.

In a statement, the military described the killed insurgents as “ Khwarij,” “Khwarij,” a term often used by authorities for the Pakistani Taliban.

The clash took place in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The military said the militants had been involved in previous attacks, including a 2023 suicide bombing at a police station gate on the city’s outskirts that killed 23 security personnel.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants’ hideout, according to the statement. The military also alleged that the killed insurgents had support from neighboring India.

Islamabad in recent months has accused India of backing both the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists in the country’s insurgency-hit southwest, a charge New Delhi denies.

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, mostly claimed by separatists and Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan since then.