2 police officers, 4 Pakistani Taliban killed in a rare raid in Pakistan-held Kashmir

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MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Security forces acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, triggering a shootout that left two police officers and four Pakistani Taliban fighters dead, police said Thursday.

The overnight raid was carried out in the Rawalakot district, according to Abdul Jabbar, the police chief in Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed in full by both countries in its entirety.

Jabbar said the killed militants were members of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and are allies of the Afghan Taliban. He alleged the TTP is acting as a proxy for India and said police thwarted an attempt by the insurgents to create a base for future attacks.

There was no immediate response from New Delhi.

In a separate shootout with insurgents, four soldiers and five Pakistani Taliban were killed in the northwestern North Waziristan district, the military said in a statement Thursday night.

While Pakistani security forces frequently target TTP hideouts in the restive northwest and elsewhere, such operations in Kashmir are rare. TTP is a separate group and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have since found sanctuary in Afghanistan.