Security forces killed 13 India-backed terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the military’s media wing said security forces conducted the two IBOs in Khyber District’s Bara area and Bannu on the reported presence of the terrorists. During the operation in Bara, it said, security forces “effectively engaged khwarijs’ location and after an intense fire exchange, 10 khwarij were” killed.
The second IBO, in Bannu, resulted in the killing of three terrorists.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area,” said the ISPR statement, adding the counter-terrorism campaign under Vision Azm-e-Istehkam would continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and -supported terrorism from the country.
Pakistan has been in the midst of a terror resurgence since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan the worst-affected provinces, as they share a border with Afghanistan.
After several attempts to diplomatically convince the interim Afghanistan government to prevent the use of its soil for terrorism against Pakistan, Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq earlier this year. According to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the offensive has resulted in 684 Afghan Taliban operatives and affiliated militants killed and more than 900 others injured.