ISLAMABAD

At least 15 militants were killed in two separate security operations in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, the Pakistan Army said on Saturday.

According to a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, 12 militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Harnai District after troops engaged a suspected militant hideout.

In a separate operation in the Basima District, three militants were killed in an intense exchange of fire with security forces, the military said.

The army added that weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from the slain militants, who were allegedly involved in multiple terrorist activities in the province.

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban and outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

Islamabad accuses the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch groups of operating from Afghanistan, a charge the Taliban-led government in Kabul has repeatedly denied.