Fierce clashes broke out in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan when Pakistani security forces raided two hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, killing 12 soldiers and 35 militants, the military said on Saturday. Twenty-two militants were killed in the first raid in Bajaur, a district in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The country has faced a rise in attacks in recent years, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The Pakistani military urged the Taliban government in Kabul to “to uphold its responsibilities and deny use of its soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan”. Last month the Pakistani military launched a “targeted operation” against militants in Bajaur, a former stronghold, which displaced tens of thousands of people.