Pakistan military raids insurgent strongholds in the restive northwest, killing 13 fighters

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces faced off with insurgents in three separate shootouts in the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 13 militants, the military said.

Troops killed 11 insurgents in two separate raids in the North and South Waziristan districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Another two insurgents were killed in the third security raid in Bannu, also a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military said.

It said an army major, Mohammad Awais, was killed during the shootout with militants in North Waziristan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban who have stepped up attacks on security forces in recent months.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate group but allies of the Afghan Taliban who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 as the United States and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout. The Taliban takeover next door has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.