Pakistan: Troops kill 10 militants in shootout in northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces killed 10 militants, including four insurgent commanders, in a shootout in a former Taliban stronghold in the country's northwest Tuesday, the military said.

According to a military statement, troops also seized a cache of weapons during the operation in the district of South Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan.

The military did not identify the militant group to which the fighters belonged.

It said the slain fighters were linked to past attacks on civilians and security forces and that the insurgents were planning to carry out more attacks. The military provided no further details.

South Waziristan served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said it cleared the region of insurgents. But occasional attacks have continued.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, although Pakistan’s militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.