date_range
Monday 23 Dec 2024
LOCAL EDITION
close
LOCAL EDITION
Pakistan's military has said its forces raided a terrorist hideout in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban near the border with Afghanistan, triggering an intense shootout that killed eight terrorists.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber on Monday targeted a vehicle with security forces in the northwestern Bannu district, killing two civilians and wounding 10 others, including three soldiers, the military said.
Troops seized weapons and ammunition from the hideout in an intelligence-based operation on Sunday in the South Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
No detail was given about the terrorists' identities. But blame usually falls, on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP a separate group but loosely affiliated with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban who also often target troops across the country.
Tensions between the two countries have spiked with Pakistan demanding the Taliban administration stop the TTP from using Afghan soil to launch attacks.
Pakistan's military said the suicide bomber who struck on Monday was an Afghan. Pakistan has said some Afghans were among those who carried out high-profile attacks in recent months.
___
Source: TRT
