PESHAWAR: Three terrorists were killed and a security official was injured in separate operations in Bajaur and North Waziristan tribal districts on Saturday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said se­­c­urity forces conducted intelligence-based and clea­ra­n­­c­­­e operations against terrorists in the two districts adja­cent to the Afghan border.

A statement said that a terrorist named Ghafoor alias Jaleel, a close acqu­ain­tance of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakist­an’s leader Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, was killed during an operation in Bajaur.

ISPR said that Jaleel was involved in many terrorist activities. He was killed in an exchange of fire, during which a security official was wounded.

On Thursday evening, Mau­­lvi Faqir escaped unhurt from a suspected drone strike on a safe house in eastern Afgha­nistan. He was arrested by the previous US-backed Kabul government and spent years in Afghanistan’s notorious Bagram prison but was released after the Taliban’s lightning takeover of the country in August.

Meanwhile, two terrorists were killed during a clearance operation in the Boya area of North Waziristan. The terrorists were spotted fleeing from Mohammad Khel village towards Vezda Sar and were killed during an exchange of fire.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2021