The Pakistani security forces stormed two Pakistani Taliban hideouts in the north west of the country close to the Afghan border, which led to fierce shootouts, annihilating 23 militants according to the military on 20th November.

No information was provided as to any casualties among the military. A military statement said the raids occurred on Wednesday, in the district of Kurram in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The operation was preceded by raids this week in the northwestern part of Pakistan that the army reported killed 38 militants.

The military described the slain militants as “Khawarij”, which is a term used by the authorities to refer to militants they say are supported by Afghanistan and India, even those associated with the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, a claim denied by Kabul and New Delhi.

On Thursday, a roadside bomb on a police vehicle killed two police officers and injured four in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district, local police officer Sajjad Khan said. There was no one ready to speak on the case, and Khan told him that he was investigating the case.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is another but related group to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The group has been empowered after the Taliban took control of power in Afghanistan in 2021.

It is estimated that many TTP leaders and fighters are residing in sanctuaries throughout the Afghan border, which is causing tension between the two countries of Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has been encouraging Kabul to bring the TTP under control.

A ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been observed to be mostly true since Oct. 19, when Qatar mediated a ceasefire between the two sides after both fired at each other in border posts. The confrontations were triggered by the accusations levelled by Kabul at Islamabad, which carried out the October 9 drone attacks on the Afghan capital that killed some of the people in the country.

The two neighbors have not opened their borders for a month.