Six terrorists were killed in a joint operation carried out by the Counter Terrorism Department and police in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, according to District Police Officer Shehbaz Elahi.
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The operation was conducted in the Lachi area of Kohat, where security forces engaged suspected militants during an intelligence-based action. Authorities said weapons were recovered from the militants who were killed in the encounter.
Officials confirmed that the area has been cordoned off and a search operation is underway to ensure no other militants are present in the vicinity.
The operation comes amid a surge in militant attacks across the province. Just a day earlier, another intelligence-based operation by the CTD resulted in the killing of six suspected militants in the region.
The security action followed a deadly explosion near a police vehicle in the Bettani tribal area of Lakki Marwat, where seven police personnel were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack.
Pakistan has witnessed a rise in cross-border militant activity, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both of which border Afghanistan, since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
In response to the growing security threats, Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq targeting militant hideouts along the border. According to Attaullah Tarar, the operation has resulted in the killing of hundreds of militants and the destruction of numerous militant infrastructure sites.
Security sources also reported that Pakistani forces previously carried out airstrikes against militant camps linked to Fitna al Khawarij and Islamic State – Khorasan Province in Afghan provinces including Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost.
Despite several rounds of diplomatic talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, tensions have persisted due to Islamabad’s concerns over militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
