Pakistani army says clashes near the Afghan border killed 19 soldiers and 45 militants

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided three hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border in the past two days, triggering fierce clashes that killed 19 soldiers and 45 militants, the military said Saturday.

The death toll underscores the struggles that Pakistan faces as it tries to rein in resurging militant groups. The military said that 22 militants were killed in the first raid in Bajaur, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Thirteen more militants were killed in a separate operation in South Waziristan district, the military said. The statement said that the 12 soldiers, “having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom” in South Waziristan.

In a separate statement, the military said a third intelligence-based operation was carried out on Thursday in Lower Dir district, triggering a fierce gunbattle in which seven more soldiers and 10 Pakistani Taliban were killed.

The militants are using Afghanistan to stage attacks in Pakistan, the military said, urging the Taliban government in Kabul “to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.”

The military described the killed militants as “Khwarij,” a term the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban, and alleged they were backed by India though it offered no evidence for the allegation. Pakistan has long accused India of supporting the Pakistani Taliban and separatists in Baluchistan, charges that New Delhi denies.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban in Kabul or from New Delhi.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials praised the security forces for killing dozens of militants, and praised the troops for sacrificing their lives in the fight against terrorism, according to state-run media.

It said Sharif and the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, attended the mass funerals of the soldiers. They also visited troops wounded in the clashes at a military hospital in the northwestern city of Bannu.

According to state-media, Sharif said that the country desires peaceful relations with all of its neighbors, including Afghanistan. But he asked the Taliban government to “make a clear choice” between maintaining friendly ties with Pakistan or continuing to harbor the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks in recent years, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban, but is closely allied with them.

TTP has become emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, with many of the Pakistani Taliban leaders and fighters finding sanctuary across the border.

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Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, contributed to this report.