ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided two Pakistani Taliban hideouts in the country's northwest near the Afghan border, sparking intense gun battles that left 23 militants dead, the military said Thursday.
There were no details available about military casualties. The raids took place on Wednesday in Kurram, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said. The operation follows raids earlier this week in northwestern Pakistan in which the army said 38 militants were killed.
The military identified the slain militants as Khawarij, a term authorities use to describe militants they say are backed by Afghanistan and India, including those linked to the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, a charge Kabul and New Delhi deny.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, is a separate but related group to the Afghan Taliban. The group has become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Many TTP leaders and militants are believed to operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has long called on Kabul to rein in the TPP.
The truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan has largely held since October 19, when Qatar called a truce after both sides exchanged fire at border posts. The clashes erupted after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out drone strikes on the Afghan capital on October 9 that killed several people.
Border crossings between the two neighbors have remained closed since last month.
