By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed at least 12 militants in a series of operations across three districts in the country’s northwest between Friday night and Saturday, while thwarting a planned suicide bombing in the volatile North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the military said on Saturday, amid a persistent wave of terrorist attacks that has strained relations between the federal government and provincial authorities.
The operations, described by the military as an intelligence-based raid, targeted a group of insurgents affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which the government refers to as “Fitna al-Khawarij.”
The clashes, which unfolded in Bajaur, Hangu and North Waziristan, also left a police officer injured and followed a bomb attack that killed a senior police official and two guards. The operations highlighted the persistent threat from militants linked to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
In North Waziristan’s Jhallar area, troops killed three militants and destroyed a vehicle rigged for a suicide bombing, averting what the military described as a “potential catastrophic attack.” The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said in a statement that forces had acted on intelligence about the presence of “Khawarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij.”
Troops “effectively engaged” the militants’ location, the statement said, destroying the vehicle in addition to killing the three insurgents. “A sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored Kharji found in the area as a relentless counterterrorism campaign … by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said.
Separately, in Bajaur District’s War Mamund tehsil, a targeted operation based on intelligence reports left five militants dead and several others injured, security officials said. The action, centered in the Badan area, stretched over two days, with residents reporting sustained movement by security forces.
Local officials claimed the militants had been using a mosque built for refugees as a hideout. The operations prompted a demonstration by leaders of the Bajaur Aman Jirga, a local peace council, in the Umary area on Saturday evening. They demanded that authorities take steps to avoid harm to civilians during such actions.
In Hangu District, four militants were killed in an exchange of fire amid the rugged mountains on Friday evening. The clash erupted during follow-up action after an improvised explosive device attack that killed Superintendent of Police (Operations) Asad Zubair and two police guards. The station house officer of the Doaba police station was injured in the ensuing operation, officials said.
Hangu has endured repeated attacks attributed to the banned TTP in recent months, underscoring the challenges facing security forces in the region, which borders Afghanistan and has long been a stronghold for militant groups.
The surge in operations comes amid broader efforts by Pakistan to combat insurgency, with the military emphasizing its resolve to root out what it calls foreign-backed terrorism. Officials have repeatedly accused neighboring countries, including India, of supporting such groups, though those nations have denied involvement.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks or the militants killed, but the TTP has been blamed for a wave of violence targeting security personnel in the northwest. The operations reflect Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to secure its volatile border areas, where cross-border tensions and internal militancy continue to fuel instability.
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