Six alleged militants linked to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)** were shot dead in the Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during an operation conducted jointly by police and counter-terrorism forces, the police said in a statement on Thursday.
Confirming the operation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police spokesman Shahid Hameed said: "When the security teams reached the terrorists' hideout, [the terrorists] opened fire at police officials from several directions. The police retaliated."
Hameed revealed that after the gun-battle with the militants, the police launched a search operation at the site, where a large consignment of weapons alongside the bodies of the six slain militants was recovered.
"A huge cache of loaded arms, ammunition and grenades were recovered from their possession," he added.
Confirming the operation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police spokesman Shahid Hameed said: "When the security teams reached the terrorists' hideout, [the terrorists] opened fire at police officials from several directions. The police retaliated."
Hameed revealed that after the gun-battle with the militants, the police launched a search operation at the site, where a large consignment of weapons alongside the bodies of the six slain militants was recovered.
"A huge cache of loaded arms, ammunition and grenades were recovered from their possession," he added.
The killing of six alleged TTP or Pakistan Taliban members in a counter-terrorism operation came a day after the Afghan Taliban* assured visiting Pakistan Defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif that they would not allow Pakistan's soil to be used to become a launchpad for terrorist activities.
On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Office said that Asif and the Taliban leadership discussed the increasing threat posed by the TTP and IS-K before adding that "the two sides agreed to collaborate to tackle effectively the threat of terrorism".
The visit paid by Muhammad Asif and Pakistan spy chief Nadeem Ahmed Anjum is noteworthy as Pakistan's security forces have blamed the TTP for the recent spate of violent attacks, which they believe have been carried out with the assistance of the Afghan Taliban leadership.
However, Kabul has denied these claims, declaring that Afghanistan was not being used to launch attacks on Pakistan, resulting in a perceived rift in relations between the two neighbors.
Since November, when the TTP announced the end of its ceasefire agreement with the federal government, Pakistan has witnessed a flurry of militant attacks.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a mosque packed with worshippers in Peshawar city, killing more than 100, including at least 30 policemen.
In another brazen attack last week, gunmen entered the police headquarters in Karachi, leaving four security personnel dead and 14 others injured.
Furthermore, militants have also targeted Pakistan's richest province Punjab in recent days. Since TTP resumed its hostilities against Pakistani government agencies in November, the first attack in Punjab came in the Mianwali district a couple of weeks ago, followed by a few more in the province earlier this month.
The visit paid by Muhammad Asif and Pakistan spy chief Nadeem Ahmed Anjum is noteworthy as Pakistan's security forces have blamed the TTP for the recent spate of violent attacks, which they believe have been carried out with the assistance of the Afghan Taliban leadership.
However, Kabul has denied these claims, declaring that Afghanistan was not being used to launch attacks on Pakistan, resulting in a perceived rift in relations between the two neighbors.
Since November, when the TTP announced the end of its ceasefire agreement with the federal government, Pakistan has witnessed a flurry of militant attacks.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a mosque packed with worshippers in Peshawar city, killing more than 100, including at least 30 policemen.
In another brazen attack last week, gunmen entered the police headquarters in Karachi, leaving four security personnel dead and 14 others injured.
Furthermore, militants have also targeted Pakistan's richest province Punjab in recent days. Since TTP resumed its hostilities against Pakistani government agencies in November, the first attack in Punjab came in the Mianwali district a couple of weeks ago, followed by a few more in the province earlier this month.
*under UN sanctions for terrorism
** a terrorist organisation banned in Russia