Pakistan Forces Kill 22 Militants in Khyber Raid, Child Dies

Pakistani security forces killed 22 militants during an intelligence-based operation in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 21, though a 10-year-old child also died in the ensuing gunfire.

The joint effort by security forces and law enforcement agencies targeted a group of militants based on intelligence reports indicating their presence in the area near the Afghan border. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing, the militants, designated by the state as Fitna al-Khawarij and linked to the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, opened indiscriminate fire during the raid. The exchange resulted in the deaths of all 22 militants, with authorities recovering a large quantity of weapons and ammunition from the site. Sanitization operations continue in the district to clear any remaining threats.

The child's death, attributed to the militants' firing, drew expressions of sorrow from national leaders. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended the security forces for the operation's success while voicing profound grief over the civilian casualty. In a statement, Sharif described the...