Attack on Pakistani army posts leaves 3 soldiers and 4 insurgents dead

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants attacked three army posts in northwest Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan on Friday, triggering intense shootouts that killed three soldiers and four insurgents, the military said.

The attacks happened in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement. It said a search operation was underway in the area to eliminate any other insurgents and security forces were “determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism.”

The military gave no further details, but a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Gul Bahadur group is based in Afghanistan, authorities say.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent years, predominantly in the northwest.