Security forces killed 11 terrorists during a series of intelligence-based operations (IBO) conducted over the past 48 hours in the Datta Khel area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan district, the military's media wing said on Sunday.
A statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that security forces engaged multiple Khawarij locations in the area, leading to intense and fierce exchanges of fire. Eleven khawarij belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij were effectively neutralised during the operations, it said.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term used by the state for terrorists associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement further added that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists, who had been actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.
The military said sanitisation operations were continuing to eliminate any remaining terrorists from the area. ISPR said that the counterterrorism campaign under the Azm-e-Istehkam framework would continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.
A day earlier, in a joint operation, law enforcement agencies (LEAs), security forces and members of local militias neutralised at least 25 terrorists, including a commander belonging to the outlawed TTP, in Bannu. A policeman and a volunteer were martyred, while five people, including a child, sustained injuries during the operation.
Last week, security forces also killed 22 terrorists during a sanitisation operation conducted in North Waziristan district. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been battling terrorism since the United States' ouster from Afghanistan, with terrorists often crossing the border to target police convoys and vehicles, resulting in the deaths of several officials and personnel.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, in a report, said that 85 verified terrorist attacks were recorded in April, down from 146 in March, marking a 42% decline, while fatalities from such attacks fell from 106 to 60, extending a downward trajectory that had begun in the previous month. The report attributed the improvement to Pakistan's cross-border military campaign against terrorist groups and Taliban positions between February 26 and March 18, which later gave way to a suspension of hostilities and talks in Urumqi, China.
