Pakistan army kills 30 militants in border region

Islamabad,Pakistan -Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants in several operations near the Afghan frontier in recent days, the army said Thursday, after a suicide bombing last week killed 12 people in Islamabad.

The militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban or its affiliated groups, the military said in a statement, accusing archfoe India of backing them. Twenty-three militants were killed in raids in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, the military said. In a subsequent statement, the military said a further seven militants were killed in three separate operations in Mohmand, Lakki Marwat and Tank districts in the same province on November 18-19. “Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out (the) menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the military said. Islamabad has routinely accused Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that stage deadly attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistan has also stepped up its rhetoric against India in recent months, which it claims backs militant groups. Both neighbours deny any involvement. The raids come after a suicide bombing outside a court in Islamabad killed 12 people and wounded dozens last week, which Pakistan said was planned from Afghanistan. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sharply deteriorated, with cross-border clashes last month prompting the worst fighting in years. More than 70 people were killed on both sides in their week-long conflict, and the border remains closed. The South Asian neighbours agreed to a fragile ceasefire but failed to finalise its terms after several rounds of talks, each blaming the other for the impasse.