Pakistan military kills 50 militants along Afghanistan border

The region is crucial for Chinese Belt and Road projects, and the military's death toll claims face skepticism from independent observers.

Pakistan's military said on Tuesday it had killed 50 Islamist militants along the border with neighbouring Afghanistan over four days, in a restive southwestern region home to key Chinese Belt and Road projects.

The militants were killed in an operation started on Thursday. (AFP File Photo for representation)

The militants were killed in an operation started on Thursday, it said in a statement, in Balochistan, where both Islamist militants and separatist insurgents demanding a bigger share of the province's mineral wealth operate.

Reuters could not independently verify the toll.

Independent analysts and militant groups say Pakistan's army routinely exaggerates the death tolls of militants, a charge the military rejects.