Pakistani security forces kill 29 in border operation

Pakistani security forces have launched a ground operation in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, following a “planned and targeted” attack on a militant hideout, killing 29 people, the Associated Press reported.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar confirmed the operation in a social media post on Sunday (June 28). The AP reported. He said the operation was in response to a series of terrorist attacks across the country. There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks targeting police and security forces in recent years. Authorities say the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is responsible for most of the violence.
The previous day, gunmen armed with guns and explosives attacked the headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three Rangers members. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another wounded one. The army said the arrested person was an Afghan national. In a statement issued late on Saturday (June 27), a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
Information Minister Tarar said Pakistan’s latest operation in the Afghan border area targeted Pakistani Taliban hideouts. Although the Pakistani Taliban is separate from the Afghan Taliban, which governs Afghanistan, both sides are known to be allies.