Pakistani troops kill 37 militants in raids on their hideouts

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s military says security forces have killed 37 insurgents in multiple raids over more than a week on militant hideouts in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. The military said Friday that troops also killed five insurgents elsewhere in the country’s restive southwest. Pakistan has stepped up operations against Islamic militants and a small separatist group since insurgents killed more than 50 people in the Balochistan province in multiple attacks on police, security forces and civilians. The military said in a statement that a dozen militants were killed overnight in Tirah Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The military said that it brings the number of insurgents killed there to 37 since Aug. 20.