Pakistani army kills 13 militants in two-day operation

At least eight militants, including two Afghan nationals belonging to the banned Tariq Gidar group - an affiliate of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - were killed on the second day of an ongoing operation against militants in Darra Adamkhel area of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, security sources said, Report informs via Dawn.

A total of 13 militants have now been killed in the operation, with five killed on Friday, when the operation commenced.

Sources added that the operation was launched on the reported presence of a group of militants in the area, adding that the offensive was ongoing and that the area had been cordoned off. They added that Afghan nationals were among the dead.

"Security forces have cordoned off the area, and the operation is still underway," they said, adding that the operation would continue until the last terrorist was eliminated.

The TTP's Tariq Gidar group, named after militant commander Tariq Afridi from Darra Adamkhel, had been active in the area and involved in militant activities. Afridi was killed in 2012, reportedly by his relatives in Khyber.

Darra Adamkhel area has witnessed several terrorist attacks on security forces and convoys, as well as military operations.

There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the TTP. Pakistani officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Earlier this month, Pakistani security forces killed five terrorists in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkwa's Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts. In early April, eight terrorists were killed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan.