Pakistani officials have announced that their security forces, in continuation of a ground operation and airstrikes along the Afghanistan border, have killed 29 members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to Al Jazeera, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Monday, 8 Saratan (June/July), that the operation was carried out in response to recent attacks by armed groups in various parts of Pakistan. He stated that three targets in the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar were struck and destroyed in precision airstrikes.
This operation took place a day after an armed attack on the Rangers headquarters in Karachi, which resulted in the killing of three Pakistani security personnel. Security officials in Pakistan said they killed three attackers and arrested a wounded assailant, identified as an Afghan national. The attack was claimed by “Jamaat-ul-Ahrar,” a splinter faction of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
In response, the Taliban stated that Pakistani airstrikes targeted residential areas, resulting in the deaths of at least 36 civilians, including women and children, and injuring 163 others.
Pakistan says the objective of the operation was to target TTP hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. Islamabad officials have, in recent years, attributed the rise in attacks against their security forces to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliated groups.
To date, no independent source has verified the claims made by either Pakistani or Taliban officials regarding the outcomes of these attacks.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
