ISLAMABAD (AP) – Troops raided a militant hideout in a former Pakistani Taleban stronghold near the border with Afghanistan yesterday, triggering a shootout that killed two insurgents, the military said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif summoned the country’s opposition leader to forge a response to the recent surge in violence, including a mosque bombing that killed 101 people.
Troops yesterday recovered a cache of weapons in a militant hideout in North Waziristan, a district of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement.
The militants killed during the raid had been involved in past attacks on security forces, it added. The statement provided no further details, and the identity of the slain militants was not immediately known.
Troops routinely carry out such raids to trace and arrest the Pakistani Taleban, who are also known as the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taleban are a separate group but are allies of the Afghan Taleban, who seized power in Afghanistan a year ago as United States and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout.
The Taleban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taleban, who have stepped up attacks since November when they ended the ceasefire with the government.
