Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – At least 10 people, including nine suspected militants, were killed in a series of clashes and attacks across Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, officials confirmed Saturday amid rising security tensions.
In Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan district, police engaged in a fierce armed confrontation with suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in Jaday Wala village early Saturday. The encounter resulted in the deaths of five militants, with security operations still ongoing in the area, according to a police statement.
Meanwhile, separate counterterrorism operations by security forces in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts of Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan led to the killing of four additional suspected militants. These operations come amid heightened military activity in the region as authorities seek to curb insurgent movements.
Violence also escalated with the targeted killing of Malik Eid Nawaz, a local tribal leader, who was shot dead by militants in Bannu district, further stoking fears of instability in the northwest.
The incidents follow a recent report by Pakistan’s military that at least 30 suspected militants were killed while attempting to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Friday, highlighting ongoing efforts to secure the volatile frontier.
Last week, a suicide bombing in North Waziristan near the Afghan border claimed the lives of 13 Pakistani soldiers, prompting a swift military response in which 14 militants were killed.
Islamabad continues to accuse TTP militants—whom it alleges operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan—of orchestrating cross-border attacks, charges the Afghan government denies, complicating regional security dynamics.
The escalating violence underscores the fragile security situation along Pakistan’s western borders and the ongoing challenges posed by militant groups in the region.
