Pakistani security forces kill 9 militants in a raid in the restive northwest near Afghanistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s military says security forces have killed nine insurgents in a shootout in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the volatile northwestern region that borders Afghanistan. Troops also seized weapons and ammunition from the insurgents’ hideout in Bajur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The military statement Thursday provided no details, including the affiliation of the militants. However, such raids often target the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. They are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.