6 suspected militants killed in military operation in NW Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – The Pakistan Army has claimed to have killed six suspected militants in a security operation in a northwestern district of the country.
The operation took place in Dattakhel area of the restive North Waziristan tribal district, which borders Afghanistan and has been a hotbed of militancy since Pakistan’s alliance with the US in its occupation of Afghanistan,, and has revived following the re-emergence of the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan.
“On March, 8, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by security forces in Datta Khel, North Waziristan District. During intense exchange of fire, six terrorists were killed,” according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Army’s media wing.
Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the militants killed, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) added.
The slain militants, the statement added, “remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and civilians.”
The latest operation was carried out on the heels of an increase in attacks on security forces across the country, most of which were claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a consortium of several militant groups operating in Pakistan.
Following a surge in attacks since the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan in August 2021, Islamabad has been calling upon Kabul not to allow militant groups to use its soil as a launch pad to attack Pakistani security forces.
North Waziristan — once dubbed the heartland of militancy — is one of seven former semi-autonomous tribal districts in the country where the army has conducted a series of operations since 2014 to eliminate the TTP.
Successive operations pushed the TTP towards neighboring Afghanistan, and Islamabad claims the network has now set up bases across the border to attack Pakistani security forces.
However, in contrast to Islamabad’s hopes for a further decrease in attacks from the bordering areas following the Taliban retaking control of Kabul, the army has been facing a series of deadly attacks.
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