41 militants killed in Pakistan military raids in the country's southwest

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's security forces have raided two militant hideouts in the country’s southwest, killing 41 insurgents in separate gunbattles, the military said Friday.

The first raid left 30 insurgents dead in Panjgur district in Balochistan province, according to a military statement. It said that 11 more militants were killed in a second operation in Harnai district in Balochistan. Both raids took place on Thursday, and no soldiers were killed.

The military said that the killed militants were backed by neighboring India, but provided no evidence to support the accusation. It said that those killed were involved in multiple attacks on security forces and in bank robberies.

“Sanitization operations” were ongoing in both districts to eliminate any remaining militants, the statement said. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in separate statements, praised the security forces for the operations.

Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent months, largely blamed on Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group, but is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021.

Balochistan, which shares a big border with Afghanistan, has long been the site of an insurgency by separatist groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad. The province has also seen attacks by the Pakistani Taliban and the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and other groups, including the Islamic State group.

Though officials say the insurgency has been largely contained, violence has continued in Balochistan.