RAWALPINDI: As many as five terrorists were killed in three separate operations of the security forces in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.
A joint intelligence-based operation was conducted in Mohmand district and three terrorists, including “Kharji alias Qari of Fitna Al Khawarij,” were successfully neutralised, said the military’s media wing in a statement.
It further said that during the conduct of the operation, terrorists’ hideout was also busted and a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives was recovered. However, police constable Abrar Hussain (resident of district Swabi) of the KP police, having fought gallantly, embraced shahadat during the intense exchange of gunfire, it said.
In another intelligence-based operation conducted in the Dera Ismail Khan district, security forces effectively engaged terrorists’ location, as a result of which “Kharji Sifatullah Mullah Mansoor of Fitna Al Khawarij was sent to hell,” while three other terrorists got injured, said the ISPR statement.
The army’s media wing said that Kharji Sifatullah was involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area including the facilitation of a suicide bombing attack in Daraban on December 12, 2023, and was highly wanted by law enforcement agencies.
In a third engagement that occurred in the North Waziristan district, “another Kharji terrorist of Fitna Al Khawarij was sent to hell” by the security forces, according to the statement.
“Pakistan’s security forces stand shoulder to shoulder with other law enforcement agencies to ensure peace and stability across Pakistan and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” it added.
Last week, security forces killed a terrorist in yet another IBO conducted in Balochistan’s Hoshab district where they engaged in a gun battle with the terrorists, the ISPR had said.
In another incident last week, three terrorists were killed as security forces thwarted their attempt to infiltrate Pakistan via the Afghanistan border in district Dir of KP, as per the ISPR.
To cope with the resurge of terrorism, including cross-border infiltration, especially in KP and Balochistan in recent months, the federal government last month approved launching a strategic campaign “Azm-e-Istehkam”, a renewed national anti-terror drive as part of the National Action Plan.
The country, during the second quarter of 2024 witnessed 380 violence-linked fatalities and 220 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 240 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, said a Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) Annual Security report.
This includes 236 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel, the report said.
KP and Balochistan, both of which share borders with neighbouring Afghanistan, have faced the brunt of terrorist attacks and reported nearly 92% of all fatalities and 87% of attacks — wherein the former suffered 67% and the latter 25% of all fatalities in the second quarter of 2024.
