Security forces have killed six terrorists during an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)’s Dera Ismail Khan district, while two soldiers were martyred in the exchange of fire, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The operation took place on Saturday in the Zarkani area following reports of the presence of terrorists belonging to the Indian-backed Fitna Al Khawarij, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement on Sunday.
The state uses the term Fitna al Khawarij for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“Owing to [the] meticulous conduct of operation by security forces, six India-sponsored khawarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR stated.
ISPR identified the two soldiers killed in the operation as 36-year-old Naik Ghulam Murtaza from Gujrat and 30-year-old Sepoy Taseer Ahmed from Talagang, both in Punjab.
The statement said that the soldiers “fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifices and embraced martyrdom.”
Security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the terrorists killed in the operation.
The ISPR said that the men had been involved in attacks against security forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as the killing of civilians.
A sanitisation operation was under way in the area to locate and eliminate any other terrorists, the statement added.
The military’s media wing said that its counterterrorism campaign under the government’s “Azm-i-Istehkam” initiative will continue. The initiative was approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan.
KP has witnessed a rise in terrorist activity in recent months. Data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) showed that the province, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August, up from 36 in July, an increase of 50 percent.
Earlier this month, security forces killed eight terrorists in an IBO in Dera Ismail Khan, according to state media reports citing security sources.
On Friday, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir reaffirmed the military’s commitment to continuing operations against India-sponsored terrorists groups during a visit to Corps Headquarters in Peshawar.
