ISLAMABAD

At least 22 militants, including a key commander, were killed during three different operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces of Pakistan, the military said on Thursday.

In the first operation conducted in the Chiltan Mountains area of the Quetta District of Balochistan, 14 militants were killed on Wednesday night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said in a statement.

The second intelligence-based operation was carried out in the Buleda area of Kech District in Balochistan, killing four terrorists, according to the military.

Security forces also recovered weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the killed terrorists.

Meanwhile, ISPR claimed that last night a group of militants was trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Bajaur area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but the army foiled the attempt. As a result of precise and skillful engagement, four militants, including a high-value target, Kharji Amjad Mazahim, were killed, it said.

Amjad was a deputy to the outlawed Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud and wanted by the security agencies in several cases of terrorist attacks, as the government had fixed a head money of Rs 5 million (approximately $17,800) on him.

On Wednesday, at least six soldiers, including an army officer, were killed in a clash with militants in the Kurram tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the military also killed at least seven militants during the intelligence-based operation in the area.