Pakistani security forces acting on intelligence raided multiple militant hideouts in the country’s northwest and southwest, killing 49 militants, the military said Friday, as authorities intensify operations against insurgents amid a surge in militant violence.
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Twelve militants were killed in separate operations this week in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, the military said in a statement. Another 37 were killed in operations in southwestern Balochistan province.
The military described those killed as members of “ Fitna al-Khawarij " and “Fitna al-Hindustan,” terms the government uses for the outlawed Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatist groups, respectively.
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Pakistan has accused both the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists of operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and receiving support from India. Both Afghanistan and India deny the allegations.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan has accused both the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists of operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and receiving support from India. Both Afghanistan and India deny the allegations.
{{/usCountry}}The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is a separate group but is closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Pakistan has seen a surge in violence, much of it blamed on TTP and Baloch separatist groups.
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Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populous province, has long been the site of an insurgency by ethnic Baloch groups seeking greater autonomy or independence from Pakistan’s central government. The province, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has also seen attacks by the TTP and the Islamic State group.