By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 13 militants in two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Wednesday, part of an escalating counterterrorism campaign against a resurgent insurgency that has claimed more than 2,300 lives in the region over the past year.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the armed forces’ media wing, identified the dead as members of “Indian Proxy Fitna Al Khawarij,” a term Pakistani authorities use for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) network.
In the first operation, conducted in the Bara area of Khyber district on Monday, troops killed 10 militants after “an intense fire exchange.” “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged khawarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, 10 khawarij were sent to hell,” ISPR said.
A second intelligence-based operation in Bannu district left three militants dead, the military said. Sanitisation sweeps were underway in both areas to search for additional fighters. The operations fall under Pakistan’s broader “Azm-e-Istehkam” counterterrorism strategy, which was endorsed last year by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan. The military vowed that its campaign, conducted in coordination with law enforcement agencies, “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif both praised the security forces in separate statements reported by state-run Radio Pakistan. Zardari said the operations would continue “to ensure national security and the protection of the people,” while Sharif described the troops as “a solid wall against terrorism for the country’s protection.” Both leaders reiterated the government’s determination to eradicate what they called foreign-backed terrorism.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has experienced a sharp rise in militant violence. According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies’ Annual Security Report 2025, fatalities in the province climbed from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 last year. Much of the resurgence has centered on attacks targeting security personnel and law enforcement, with similar patterns reported in Balochistan province.
The latest killings come amid a string of recent operations. On March 15, security forces killed five militants in an intelligence-based raid in Lakki Marwat district. A week earlier, troops eliminated 13 militants in five separate actions across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly blamed Afghan soil for providing sanctuary to TTP, which has stepped up its campaign since the Taliban’s takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.
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