terrorism
Killed in shootout with Taliban in Pakistan
A Pakistani police officer with heavy artillery. photo
© epa ARBAB/epa/dpa
Pakistan has been stepping up action against the Taliban in the country for some time. Now another fight has broken out – there are several dead, including children.
Ten people were killed in a shootout between security forces and the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in Pakistan. According to authorities, two children were among the dead. The other dead are said to be members of the militant Islamists.
Authorities said security forces stormed a suspected TTP stronghold in the northern region of Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, late Wednesday night. There was a firefight in which the two children were in the line of fire, it said.
For some time now, Pakistan has been stepping up action against the Pakistani Taliban, who in turn are increasingly claiming responsibility for the attacks. At the end of January, 84 people were killed in an attack in the metropolis of Peshawar, according to official figures. After investigations, the secret service announced that it had identified the Pakistani Taliban as masterminds. The TTP, on the other hand, had distanced themselves from the attack. The Pakistani Taliban are independent of the Islamist Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan.