ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 18 militants in separate operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, the government said on Wednesday, as the country battles a sharp rise in militant violence.

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks in recent years, particularly in the two western provinces bordering Afghanistan. The violence in the northwest has been driven largely by the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Balochistan is home to a decades-old separatist insurgency.

Islamabad says many of the militants carrying out attacks in Pakistan operate from neighboring Afghanistan, an accusation Kabul denies.

Thirteen militants were killed in an operation in North Waziristan, while five others were killed in a separate operation in Balochistan’s Mastung district, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement.

Naqvi praised the security forces for the two operations, saying their actions reflected the state’s determination to protect national security.

“The nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the security forces in the fight against terrorism,” Naqvi said.

He said operations against militants would continue “with full force,” and described the 18 militants killed in the two operations as Indian-sponsored. New Delhi has previously rejected Pakistani accusations that it sponsors militant groups operating inside the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately praised security forces for the North Waziristan operation, saying they had effectively targeted militant hideouts in the district and surrounding areas.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed repeated attacks in recent weeks. Twelve people were killed and more than 30 wounded in a suicide bombing at a joint police-customs checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan late last month, while an attack on a police compound in Kohat killed more than 20 people earlier in September.

The deteriorating security situation has also fueled tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of allowing Pakistani militant groups to operate from Afghan territory, while Kabul says Pakistan’s security problems are an internal matter.