Eight terrorists were killed in two separate intelligence-based operations conducted by security forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, the military’s media wing has announced.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an intelligence-based operation was conducted in the general area of Sararogha in South Waziristan district on the reported presence of Khwarij, the term adopted by the government for militants.
“During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location as a result of which two Khwarij, including Kharji ringleader Khan Muhammad, alias Khoryay, were killed, while two khwarij were apprehended,” it said.
The military’s media wing said the slain ringleader was involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area, including target killing and extortion. “He was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies and the government had fixed head money of Rs. 1 Million on him,” it added.
In a second intelligence-based operation, read the ISPR statement, security forces slew six terrorists following an intense exchange of fire in Lakki Marwat district. It said sanitization operations were underway to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area, stressing that the security forces of Pakistan are determined to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of a terror resurgence, particularly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Authorities have blamed militants based in neighboring Afghanistan, urging the interim government to ensure its soil is not used to foment terrorism on Pakistani soil.