Pakistan Security Forces Kill Militants Amid Wave of Twin Attacks

Security forces in Pakistan are conducting widespread operations against militants following a surge in attacks across multiple provinces. In Balochistan, the joint Operation Shaban—comprising the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and Balochistan police—has killed 126 militants since July 5. The operation was launched after a deadly attack on the Mangi Dam police station in Ziarat. Security sources stated that aerial and ground strikes will continue until all terrorists are eliminated, with military officials asserting that these groups are backed by India.

Simultaneously, militants struck the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 15 in two separate incidents. In the Dir district, armed assailants ambushed a security convoy at Haidaray Top, killing at least two police officers and wounding between 15 and 16 others. Shortly after, a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle containing approximately two-and-a-half tonnes of explosives into the Miryab police station in Bannu, wounding between five and ten people.

Responsibility for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attacks is contested. The banned group Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the Bannu bombing, while other officials suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Pakistani government has accused the TTP of using sanctuaries within Afghanistan, a claim the government in Kabul and the TTP both deny. Casualty reports for the northwest attacks vary, with estimates ranging from two to three dead and 20 to 26 injured.