A captain in the Pakistan Army was killed along with suspected Pakistan Taliban militants in a military operation carried out in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan military confirmed.  ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said that the security forces launched an intelligence-based operation on Wednesday in Tank district, some 315 km south of Peshwar, upon receiving inputs about the presence of commanders and militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who are continuing the attacks on Pakistani security forces that have mounted in recent weeks. 

“TTP terrorist commander Khawaza din alias Sher Khan was killed. Weapons and ammunition [were] recovered from the hideout," the military confirmed, adding a 27-year-old army captain also died during clashes.

However, the TTP contested the claim, saying the military carried out drone strikes in the area--a claim also confirmed by several local journalists.

The TTP, which is part of the Pakistan Taliban, has intensified attacks on security forces in recent months, mounting heavy casualties among security forces. In August alone, it claimed to have carried out 32 attacks.  

In response to these attacks, the Pakistan military, too, has increased its operations in the region. 

In a similar operation in South Waziristan on Tuesday, the military claimed of killing 10 militants.

Four senior commanders of the TTP were killed in what many local journalists claimed was also a drone strike. The TTP, in a statement, confirmed that drone strike but claimed it killed a woman and two children. The group also refuted the claim of their commanders being killed in the Tuesday strike.

The military had not confirmed whether or not it used drones in the operation.

In a separate operation against Baloch insurgents, the military said it killed seven insurgents belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned separatist outfit, claims to fight for the independence of a separate Baluchistan. 

On Thursday, the BLA confirmed the death of its cadre and released their photographs, adding that a number of Pakistan soldiers were also killed in the same operation. 

 (SAM)