4 yıl önce

Five Pakistani commandos killed in raid on suspected militant hideout

Police did not immediately identify which militant group was involved in the firefight that ensued after a raid on a suspected militant hideout near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Two militants were also killed in the fight.

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FILE PHOTO: Pakistani security forces demolish the hideout of militants in Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 16, 2019.

A raid on a suspected militant hideout in northwestern Pakistan has killed five anti-terrorism commandos and two militants.

According to police spokesman Imtiaz Khan, a blistering firefight erupted early on Tuesday morning when the commandos tried to raid a house in the Chilas district, 460 kilometres (285 miles) north of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan.

The fighting lasted several hours, Khan said. Along with the two militants killed, a cache of weapons and explosives was recovered, he added.

It wasn’t immediately known which militant group was involved in the firefight. The Pakistani Taliban — the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — are active in the province.

Pakistan alleges that militants from the outlawed TTP have found safe havens in Afghanistan.

A UN report released last week says that more than 6,000 Pakistani militants are hiding in Afghanistan, the majority of them from the TTP, which has also aligned with Daesh based in Afghanistan.

The UN report said the TTP and the Daesh affiliate pose a serious threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 2018, the group set fire to 14 schools for girls in the area; police arrested more than 35 militants suspected of involvement in the attack.

SOURCE: AP