18 Jul 2017 | 12:24 PM UTC
Pakistan: Eight militants killed in Operation Khyber July 18 /update 1
Operation Khyber-IV airstrikes against alleged militants near Afghan border; eight killed and three injured on Tuesday, July 18
Event
The Pakistani army has announced that eight militants have been killed, and three other injured, in the Tribal Agency Khyber’s western Rajgal Valley (near the Afghan border), following a day of heavy shelling on Tuesday, July 18. Alleged militant hideouts belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Islamic State (IS) groups were targeted as part of Operation Khyber-IV, a military operation launched by the Pakistani government on July 16 in an effort to combat TTP- and IS-linked militants present in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the border with Afghanistan.
Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), a TTP-faction actively present in the Khyber tribal agency, continues to insist that it remains the only militant group operating in Khyber’s Rajgal region.
Material and human losses are yet to be verified independently as reporters have been denied entry to the region since 2011.
Context
Extremist Islamist groups - both Taliban- and IS-affiliated organizations - continue to pose a threat throughout the country despite continued army offensives to push them from their northwestern strongholds near the Afghan border. Pakistan suffered a number of deadly attacks earlier in the year, notably in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Peshawar, the FATA and Lahore.
The Islamic State (IS) controls some territory in Afghanistan, and has been seeking to strengthen its presence in Pakistan since 2015 when it carried out its first attack in the country.
Advice
Due to the high threat of terrorism (as well as kidnapping and sectarian violence), individuals present in Pakistan are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the relevant authorities. To reduce the risk of kidnapping, individuals should avoid falling into daily routines (e.g. vary the times and routes of travel) to avoid becoming a predictable and vulnerable target. Some Western governments advise their citizens against travel to Pakistan, where foreign nationals, in particular Westerners, may be directly targeted.
