Militants stage deadly raid on Pakistani army posts near Afghan border

ISLAMABAD — A group of heavily armed militants launched coordinated attacks on two Pakistani military posts near the border with Afghanistan Friday, reportedly killing several security personnel and wounding many more.

Multiple area security sources confirmed the predawn raid in the volatile border district of Khyber, telling VOA that it resulted in the death of at least five security personnel and injuries to at least a dozen more. Ensuing clashes with Pakistani security forces reportedly also killed several assailants.

The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, did not respond to VOA inquiries seeking details of the assault in time for publication.

Militants tied to an outlawed entity known as the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post.

The group has stated publicly that its fighters are waging insurgent attacks in coordination with the globally designated terrorist organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

Militancy-hit Khyber and surrounding border districts often encounter deadly attacks aimed at Pakistani security forces and their facilities.

Pakistan complains that the TTP and leaders of other antistate groups have taken shelter in Afghanistan after fleeing counterinsurgency operations and orchestrated cross border attacks from sanctuaries there.

The violence has intensified and killed hundreds of Pakistanis, mostly security forces, since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan three years ago.

The de facto Taliban government denies the presence of foreign militants in the country, insisting that it does not allow anyone to threaten other countries, including Pakistan, from Afghan soil.

The United Nations has backed Pakistani assertions, noting in its latest situation report that the TTP is “the largest terrorist group” in Afghanistan and receives growing support from the ruling Taliban to launch cross-border attacks.

The report, released last month, estimates that up to 6,500 TTP militants, including Afghan fighters, are operating in Afghanistan and being trained as well as armed at al-Qaida-run camps there.

U.N. officials have repeatedly warned about the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, identifying Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K, an Afghan offshoot of Islamic State, as the most serious regional threat.

The head of the U.N. counterterrorism office told a Security Council meeting on Thursday that IS-Khorasan has intensified its recruitment efforts in Afghanistan and that there is a risk of the group carrying out attacks abroad.

“ISIL-K has improved its financial and logistical capabilities in the past six months, including by tapping into Afghan and Central Asian diasporas for support,” Vladimir Voronkov said, referring to the terror organization by an acronym.

The Taliban have not commented on the latest U.N. assertions and previously rejected such assessments as propaganda against their government.

The fundamentalist de facto Afghan rulers claim their security forces have eliminated IS-Khorasan bases in the country and degraded the group's ability to threaten national security and that of the region.