Pakistan’s armed forces said Tuesday that 19 militants and three soldiers were killed during counter-terrorism operations in its northwestern province bordering Afghanistan.
The fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa occurred during what the military called intelligence-driven raids on suspected militant hideouts in three districts, including the provincial capital of Peshawar.
The military statement identified the slain insurgents as “khwarij,” a term the government uses for the outlawed armed group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, known by the acronym TTP, which has been waging deadly attacks in the country.
Official claims about insurgent deaths cannot be independently verified, and the TTP did not issue any immediate comment on the military’s claim.
These were the first major clashes of the year between security forces and anti-state militants in Pakistan, following a dramatic surge in militant activity during 2024.
In 2024, insurgent attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,600 Pakistanis nationwide. The death toll included nearly 700 troops and police force members. TTP and separatist groups active in southwestern Balochistan province claimed responsibility for much of the bloodshed.
The Islamabad-based Independent Center for Research and Security Studies documented the casualties, stating that 2024 was the deadliest year for Pakistani security forces in a decade.
This week, the TTP issued a warning that it would persist in targeting security personnel and escalate its attacks to encompass commercial enterprises run by the Pakistani military.
TTP, designated as a global terrorist group by the United Nations, urged employees of military-operated companies to find alternative sources of income within three months and warned civilians to refrain from engaging with these businesses.
Neither the Pakistani government nor the military has responded to the TTP threat.
The militant warning comes as a surge in terrorist activities in Pakistan has strained its relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Last month, the Pakistani military reported that 27 Afghan nationals were among more than 900 militants killed during counterterrorism operations in 2024.
Islamabad asserts that the TTP operates from Afghan sanctuaries and receives support from the Taliban government to perpetrate cross-border attacks. Kabul has vehemently denied the presence of foreign militants in Afghanistan or the use of its soil to threaten neighboring countries.
In December, Pakistan allegedly conducted airstrikes against TTP-suspected hideouts in an Afghan border province, resulting in the deaths of dozens of individuals. Taliban authorities condemned the bombardment, saying it killed nearly 50 civilians and describing the victims as “Pakistani refugees.”
While the Pakistani government has publicly refrained from acknowledging the attack, officials have anonymously confirmed it and said the airstrikes killed more than 25 prominent TTP commanders and operatives.
Neither the Pakistani nor the Afghan assertions regarding the strikes could be independently verified.
