Pakistani security forces killed 24 militants during raids on multiple hideouts in the country's northwestern region, as authorities stepped up operations following recent militant attacks, the military and local officials said Friday.
According to the military, intelligence-based operations carried out over the previous day targeted members of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist groups, leaving 24 militants dead and resulting in the seizure of a cache of weapons.
The military said the raids were launched in response to two militant attacks on Wednesday, including a suicide bombing in which an explosives-laden vehicle rammed police officers and civilians. Another attack by a little-known militant group targeted a police station in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, injuring several police officers.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for what they described as a swift and effective response to the recent attacks in Bannu.
In separate statements, they said eliminating terrorism remains the government's top priority and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
The TTP, while separate from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, is allied with the group. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing cross-border militant attacks, an allegation Kabul has consistently denied. The TTP and the Baloch separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), have frequently claimed responsibility for attacks inside Pakistan.
Since last year, Pakistan has carried out several military strikes that it says targeted TTP hideouts along the Afghan border.
The government in Islamabad has also alleged that the militant groups receive support from India, a claim New Delhi has repeatedly rejected. President Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif reiterated the allegation in their statements.
The military said security forces will continue the nationwide counterterrorism campaign, Azm-e-Istehkam ("Resolve for Stability"), launched last year under the National Action Plan to dismantle militant networks across the country.