ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed eight Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the country’s interior ministry said on Sunday.

The northwestern Pakistani province, which borders Afghanistan, has seen multiple attacks by TTP and other militant groups that have killed dozens, including security personnel and law enforcers, in recent weeks.

Security forces conducted an operation in the province’s Dera Ismail Khan district, where they gunned down eight TTP militants, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is on the frontline against terrorism,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry. “Security forces’ action reflect the resolve to safeguard national security.”

The development comes more than a week after militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a joint police and customs checkpoint in DI Khan, killing at least 11 officials and wounding 18 others, according to police. The TTP claimed responsibility for the assault.

The attack followed heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad carrying out strikes across the border this week after accusing Kabul of failing to act against militants it says operate from the Afghan soil and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban deny the presence of armed groups on Afghan soil, saying militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.