Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Sunday, followed by "calibrated strikes" on militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, officials said, reports AP.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X that the operation was launched in response to a series of militant attacks across the country. There was no immediate response from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has seen a rise in attacks targeting police and security forces in recent years. Authorities have blamed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and its allied militant groups for most of the violence.
The operation came a day after militants armed with guns and explosives attacked the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three soldiers.
Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another wounded assailant, whom the military identified as an Afghan national.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement issued on Saturday night.
Tarar said the latest border operation targeted hideouts and safe havens used by the Pakistani Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban are separate from the Afghan Taliban, although the two groups are allies. The Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The latest operation is expected to further strain already tense relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
