Pakistani security forces kill 17 Taliban militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa raids

17 Taliban Militants Killed In Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Raids

Pakistani security forces conducted a raid on a militant hideout in the country’s restive northwest on Friday, resulting in a shootout that left 17 Pakistani Taliban fighters dead, police said, according to the Associated Press.

The confrontation occurred in Karak, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to regional Police Chief Shehbaz Elahi, who added that three officers were injured during the exchange of fire.

Elahi did not provide further specifics but identified the deceased militants as “Khwarij,” a term often used by Pakistani authorities to refer to members of the Pakistani Taliban.

Friday’s operation follows a similar intelligence-led raid two days earlier in Dera Ismail Khan, another district in the northwest, where 13 Pakistani Taliban fighters were killed in a gunfight.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant activity in recent years, much of it attributed to separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The TTP, while separate from the Afghan Taliban, maintains an alliance with them and has gained strength since the Afghan Taliban regained power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have sought refuge in Afghanistan following the change in power.