Pakistani forces step up raids near the Afghan border, killing 23 militants

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided two Pakistani Taliban hideouts in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border, triggering intense shootouts that left 23 militants dead, the military said Thursday.

There were no details on any casualties among the military. The raids took place on Wednesday in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a military statement. The operation followed raids earlier this week across northwestern Pakistan that the army said killed 38 militants.

The military identified the killed militants as “Khawarij,” a term authorities use for militants they allege are backed by Afghanistan and India, including those linked to the banned Pakistani Taliban, a charge Kabul and New Delhi deny.

Also Thursday, a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed two police officers and wounded four in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district, local police officer Sajjad Khan said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and Khan said an investigation is underway.

The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — are a separate but allied group to Afghanistan’s Taliban. The group has become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has long urged Kabul to rein in the TTP.

A ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan has largely held since Oct. 19, when Qatar brokered a truce after both sides traded fire on border posts. The clashes erupted after Kabul accused Islamabad of conducting Oct. 9 drone strikes in the Afghan capital that killed several people.

Border crossings between the two neighbors have remained shut since last month.