Pakistani authorities announced that five militants were neutralized during intelligence-based security operations in Bannu, in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police said one of those killed is suspected of involvement in the May 9 suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post, which left 15 police officers dead.

The operations come amid escalating militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Islamabad accuses Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan of launching attacks from Afghan territory, while militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army continue their separatist activities in the country’s southwest.