Fierce clashes broke out in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan when Pakistani security forces raided two hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, killing 12 soldiers and 35 militants, the military said on Saturday.
Twenty-two militants were killed in the first raid in Bajaur, a district in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Thirteen more were killed in a separate operation in South Waziristan district.
The incidents underline the struggles Pakistan faces as it tries to contain the resurgence of militant groups.
The country has faced a rise in attacks in recent years, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The TTP calls itself the world’s biggest jihadist front, and has committed a number of high-profile attacks including the attempted murder of the peace activist Malala Yousafzai, the murder of Pakistan’s former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the attempted bombing of Times Square in New York.
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 emboldened the TTP, and gave militants a haven over the border from where they can conduct operations against Pakistan. This has led to a deterioration of ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military urged the Taliban government in Kabul to “to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan”.
The military described the dead militants as “Khawarij” – a term referring to a radical sect that emerged during the early years of Islam, which the government uses for the TTP. It alleged the militants were backed by India though provided no evidence.
Pakistan has long accused India of supporting the TTP and separatists in Balochistan, which New Delhi denies. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban in Kabul or from New Delhi.
Saturday’s attack was one of the deadliest in months in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the TTP once controlled areas of territory. Last month the Pakistani military launched a “targeted operation” against militants in Bajaur, a former stronghold, which displaced tens of thousands of people.