Pakistani forces kill 6 militants in volatile northwest near Afghanistan— army

Pakistani troops patrol along Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Big Ben post in the Khyber district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on August 3, 2021. (AFP/File)
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  • Pakistani security forces carry out twin raids in Dera Ismail Khan, North Waziristan districts
  • Such operations are often conducted against Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani security forces killed six militants in twin raids Wednesday targeting their hideouts in the country’s volatile northwest region bordering Afghanistan, the military said.

Five militants were killed in the first raid in Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement. It did not provide further details about the slain insurgents, and only said the men were behind various previous attacks on the security forces.

Another militant was killed in the second raid in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan district in the northwest.

The statement did not provide any further details about the identity of the slain men.

Such operations often target the Pakistani Taliban, which has been emboldened by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, it is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.