Pakistani forces kill 15 militants in Khyber

Pakistan says at least 15 suspected militants have been killed during an exchange of fire in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that its forces launched an attack after spotting a group of militants near a military post in the Khyber region’s Tirah Valley on Saturday.

“Troops on post valiantly engaged terrorists and surrounded them, intense gun battle took place,” the statement said, adding that three Pakistani soldiers were also wounded in Saturday’s battle.

Khyber is one of the regions on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan which have been a hideout for Takfiri militant groups, including al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, during the past years.

Pakistan’s military launched its offensive in Khyber in October last year, four months after a similar operation began in the volatile North Waziristan tribal area.

The North Waziristan operation came after a deadly raid on the Karachi International Airport ended the government’s faltering peace talks with pro-Taliban militants.

The operation has so far claimed the lives of over 1,200 militants, according to Pakistan’s army.

Since 2001, when the Pakistani government entered an alliance with the United States in its so-called war on terror, many Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks in the country.