ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 24 militants in joint intelligence-based operations in the northwestern district of Bannu over the past 24 hours, the military said on Friday, following a vehicle-borne suicide bombing and other attacks in the area.
Bannu district has been the scene of repeated security incidents in recent months, with law enforcement and security personnel coming under attack amid a broader surge in militant violence in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
In the latest attack in Bannu, a police official was killed and six security personnel and four civilians were injured on Wednesday night when militants attempted to ram an explosives-laden vehicle into the Miryan police station and then tried to storm it, police said, adding the assault was repelled.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said the joint operations targeted the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, describing it as an “Indian proxy.” There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
“Security forces have initiated extensive joint intelligence-based operations to hunt the perpetrators of these heinous attacks and their support infrastructure,” the ISPR said, adding the deceased 24 militants had been "actively involved in numerous terrorist activities and killing of innocent civilians."
"The operations in the area would continue and perpetrators of these heinous and cowardly acts will be brought to justice."
Pakistan has seen a rise in militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan, since the TTP ended a ceasefire with the government in late 2022.
Islamabad has frequently accused India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for attacks in Pakistan's western regions that border Afghanistan. New Delhi and Kabul deny this.
The surge in militant attacks has also led to fierce cross-border skirmishes and airstrikes between Pakistan and Afghanistan since February this year.
