The Pakistani military claims that a shootout in the country’s volatile northwest border region resulted in the deaths of eight Islamist militants.
Islamabad blames extremists launching attacks from Afghanistan for the recent spike in violence.
The fighting occurred in South Waziristan, an area of hills close to the Afghan border that has long been used by al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militants as a safe haven.
A military statement on Monday reporting the overnight event noted, “Arms and ammunition were recovered from the militants’ hideout.”
The attacks on security forces in Pakistan have been increasingly frequent and deadly in recent weeks.
Pakistan claims that militants are hiding in Afghanistan and attacking Pakistan from across the border, and blames the Afghan Taliban leadership of being too lenient with them. Kabul opposes the accusation.
Rising tensions between the two nations have resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
