Two soldiers embraced martyrdom and three terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district, the army’s media wing said in the wee hours of Sunday.

According to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the killed terrorists remained actively involved in “numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as innocent citizens”.

The statement said the martyred soldiers, identified as 39-year-old Naik Muhammad Atiq from the Chakwal district and 36-year-old Naik Rajab Ali hailing from Attock, fought gallantly.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it added.

A day earlier, a terrorist was killed and three soldiers were martyred when security forces retaliated to an attack on one of their posts in the Zarghoon area of Balochistan.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November.

In his maiden press briefing last month, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that at least 293 people were martyred and 521 were injured in 436 terrorist incidents over the past year.

In KP, 192 people were martyred in 219 terror activities, while 80 people lost lives in 206 incidents in Balochistan, 14 people in five attacks in Punjab, and seven in six terrorism incidents across Sindh.

He had said that the army and law enforcement agencies carried out 8,269 intelligence-based operations during the previous year in which 1,378 suspected terrorists were apprehended and 157 were killed.

The DG ISPR had also said that overall 137 security personnel were martyred and 117 injured in anti-terror operations in the ongoing year.