Pakistan’s security forces kill 31 insurgents in overnight raids in northwest, military says

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s security forces raided two separate militant hideouts in the country’s northwest, killing 31 insurgents, the military said Monday.

The overnight raids took place in the districts of Bannu and Laki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, according to a military statement, which described those killed as “Khwarij,” a term authorities use for Pakistani Taliban fighters, but did not provide further details.

The latest raids came days after the military said it killed 45 Pakistani Taliban in multiple operations in the northwest. Nineteen soldiers were also killed in those clashes.

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks in recent years, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who seized power in Kabul in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have found sanctuary across the border.

Pakistani authorities have long accused India of backing the TTP and separatists in Baluchistan, allegations New Delhi denies.