Pakistani security forces kill 19 militants in separate shootouts

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities say security forces faced off with insurgents in three separate shootouts, killing 19 militants. Troops killed 9 militants in the first overnight raid in Bajur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement Thursday, without providing further details. Meanwhile, police said an intense exchange of fire was still ongoing in another district, Dera Ismail Khan. The province, in the volatile northwestern region that borders Afghanistan, is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. Police also said officers shot and killed 10 militants in Mianwali, a district in the eastern Punjab province, where Pakistani Taliban in recent months have repeatedly attacked officers.