PESHAWAR: Pakistani security forces acting on intelligence killed 30 terrorists in multiple raids on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in the country's northwestern region, where insurgents this week ambushed a security convoy, martyring 11 soldiers, the military said on Friday.
The raids were conducted in Orakzai, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where a military convoy came under attack on Wednesday, the military said in a statement. The ambush martyred 11 soldiers, including two senior officers.
According to the statement, all 30 terrorists were killed in the raids on Wednesday and Thursday and identified as members of “Khwarij”, a term the government uses for terrorists it accuses of being backed by India, including those associated with the banned TTP.
“These successful operations have avenged the heinous act and brought the main perpetrators to justice,” the statement said. It added that operations were continuing to hunt and eliminate any other “Indian-sponsored Khwarij” in the area, reaffirming that Pakistan’s forces remain determined to eradicate terrorism from the country.
Pakistan has long accused New Delhi of supporting separatists in Balochistan and the TTP, allegations India denies. In a brief statement on Wednesday, the TTP claimed responsibility for the convoy ambush in Orakzai and other areas.
The latest development came a day after Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told parliament that Pakistan would show “no leniency” in responding to such attacks. He said the country would target “those places from where insurgents attack our security forces.”
He also urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to prevent the use of Afghan soil for attacks on Pakistan. Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years, much of it claimed by the TTP. The group — separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban — has been emboldened since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
