The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday that 15 terrorists were killed in two intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between November 15 and 16.
According to the military’s media wing, the militants belonged to what it described as Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij, a state term used for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The first operation took place in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan, where security forces engaged a terrorist hideout, killing 10 militants, including alleged ringleader Alam Mehsud.
In a separate IBO in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, troops killed five more terrorists, the ISPR said.
The statement added that sanitisation operations were underway to track down any remaining “Indian-sponsored” militants in the region. It reiterated that Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts would continue until the “menace of foreign-backed terrorism” was eliminated.
President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces for the successful operations, saying that the fight against foreign-supported militants would continue with national consensus. He warned that political attempts to distract from this consensus would not be tolerated.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also commended the forces, saying that under the Azm-i-Istehkam framework, security agencies were achieving “significant successes” against terrorism. He reaffirmed the government’s determination to eradicate all forms of militant violence.
The latest operations follow a series of counterterror actions last week in which the ISPR said 24 terrorists were killed in KP and Balochistan. Pakistan has seen a notable rise in militant attacks since the TTP ended its ceasefire in November 2022.
A recent report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) noted an increase in violence over the past three months, driven by a surge in militant activity and intensified security operations.
