ISLAMABAD: Security forces in Pakistan killed 34 militants in intelligence-based operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the military said Wednesday, amid rising cross-border tensions with Afghanistan.

According to the military’s media wing, 26 members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, and Bannu, while eight separatist militants died in Zhob district. Weapons were recovered during the raids. Islamabad again alleged Indian backing for the groups, a claim India has repeatedly denied.

Separately, four police officers were killed in an ambush in Bajaur district near the Afghan border. No group claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on the Pakistani Taliban.

The operations follow recent Pakistani strikes along the Afghan border, which Kabul condemned as violations of sovereignty, further straining ties between the two neighbors.