3 Pakistani security personnel killed in raid on a militant hideout

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani security forces overnight raided a militant hideout in northwest Pakistan, sparking a shootout in which three officers and one suspect were killed, police said Thursday.

The raid occurred in Bannu, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police Arshad Khan said. Other insurgents fled the scene.

Khan said the insurgents were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Last week, Pakistani security forces killed 71 militants when they attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan, according to the military.