Pakistani military clashes: 22 militants killed in clashes in northwestern Pakistan after an exchange of army gunfire near the Afghan border – The

Pakistan’s military said on Friday that security forces killed 22 alleged militants 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 carried out by security forces and law enforcement agencies” on Tuesday in the Khyber Agency resulted in an “intense exchange of fire” in which the militants were killed.The operation took place in Khyber Agency, an area on the border with Afghanistan that has long witnessed insurgent violence and cross-border tensions.Authorities said a 10-year-old boy was killed during the shootout.A statement issued by his office said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “expressed his sadness over the martyrdom of a 10-year-old child in an unprovoked shooting by terrorists.”Armed attacks in Pakistan have increased sharply in recent years, and the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for many of them, especially in the provinces bordering Afghanistan.Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for militants since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, something Kabul has denied.

These accusations led to tense relations between the two neighboring countries and contributed to repeated clashes along the border.Earlier this year, the Pakistani military launched a series of strikes inside Afghanistan after a wave of deadly suicide bombings, and Pakistan’s defense minister described the campaign as “open war.”