Pakistan’s military on Friday said security forces killed 22 alleged terrorists during clashes in the country’s northwest earlier this week, while a 10-year-old boy was also killed in a shootout near the Afghan border.According to a statement issued by the army’s media wing, “a joint military operation was launched by security forces and law enforcement agencies” in Khyber district on Tuesday, resulting in “intense gunbattle” in which the terrorists were killed.The operation took place in Khyber district, a region bordering Afghanistan that has long seen insurgent violence and cross-border tensions.Officials said a 10-year-old boy died during the shooting.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “expressed grief over the martyrdom of a 10-year-old boy in unprovoked firing by terrorists”, according to a statement from his office.Terrorist attacks in Pakistan have increased rapidly in recent years, many of them claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), especially in the provinces bordering Afghanistan.Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of providing safe haven to terrorists, a charge Kabul has denied.The allegations have strained relations between the neighboring countries and contributed to frequent border skirmishes.Earlier this year, Pakistan’s military launched a series of attacks inside Afghanistan after a wave of deadly suicide bombings, with the country’s defense minister describing the campaign as an “open war.”
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