ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed seven Pakistani Taliban militants in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military said on Sunday, amid a surge in militancy in the region.

The militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing. Three Afghan nationals and two suicide bombers were among the deceased.

The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts in KP, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.

The ISPR said a sanitization operation was being conducted to eliminate any other "Indian-sponsored" militant in the area, adding that Pakistani security forces are determined to wipe out the menace militancy from the country.

"Pakistan expects the interim Afghan government to uphold its responsibilities and deny its soil for terrorists activities against Pakistan," it said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan or India in response to the Pakistani military's statement.

It came days after 12 Pakistani soldiers and over 60 militants were killed in separate engagements in the restive region that borders Afghanistan, according to the ISPR.

Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad broke down in November 2022.

Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.