Pakistani security forces kill 23 militants in northwest near Afghan border

• 2 police officials killed, 4 wounded in explosion in Dera Ismail Khan district

ISLAMABAD

Pakistani security forces killed at least 30 militants during military operations in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past several days, the army's media wing said on Thursday.

Security forces killed 23 militants in Kurram, four in Mohmand, two in Lakki Marwat, and one in Tank districts during military operations on Wednesday, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Meanwhile, at least two police officials were killed and four others wounded when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan district on Thursday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed to the media.

Pakistani forces have escalated their intelligence-based operations in multiple districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after recent attacks in the capital Islamabad and various parts of the province.

On Monday, the military also killed at least four militants in Bajaur, North Waziristan, and Dera Ismail Khan.

A day earlier, the ISPR said that the military killed at least 23 militants in two major clashes in the Bajaur and Bannu districts.

On Sunday, at least 15 more militants were killed during operations in the Dera Ismail Khan and North Waziristan districts.

Last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Judicial Complex in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, killing at least 12 people and injuring nearly three dozen others.

Earlier, militants attacked Cadet College in the Wana region of the South Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border. Security forces foiled the attack and killed all five militants who entered the college after a suicide bomber destroyed the main gate.