File photo. Abdul Majeed—AFP
Three terrorists were slain in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, according to the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the first IBO was conducted in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, with two terrorists slain during an intense exchange of fire. Similarly, it said, a terrorist was “sent to hell” in a separate IBO conducted in the Kot Azam area of South Waziristan.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from all three killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as the innocent civilians,” read the ISPR statement.
The military’s media wing said a third incident occurred in the general area of Gharyoum in North Waziristan, wherein an improvised explosive device detonated, martyring Sepoy Shahzeb, 26, resident of Rawalpindi. According to the ISPR, law enforcers have initiated sanitization operations to eliminate any remaining terrorists in the area. “The security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it added.
There has been a significant resurgence of terrorism across Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. In recent months, authorities have directly called on the Taliban to prevent the use of their soil by members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), adding that the militants stage attacks in Pakistan before fleeing across the Durand Line. As a consequence, authorities have launched an operation to oust undocumented migrants and have also undertaken various IBOs to curb militancy.
According to a report issued by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in October, security forces lost at least 386 personnel in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high. It said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the primary centers of violence, accounting for nearly 94 percent of all fatalities and 89 percent of attacks recorded during this period.