Six terrorists were killed by security forces in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan and North Waziristan districts, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.

A statement from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said an IBO was conducted in the Dera Ismail Khan district on the reported presence of terrorists.

“During the conduct of [the] operation, five terrorists were successfully neutralised by the security forces and sent to hell,” the ISPR said.

“In another fire exchange in North Waziristan district, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location as a result of which another terrorist Inam Ullah was sent to hell,” it added.

The ISPR said weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the militants who were actively involved in “numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as innocent civilians”.

It said sanitisation operations were being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists, adding that security forces were “determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country”.

Last week, three terrorists were killed by security forces in an exchange of fire during an IBO in KP’s Tank district.

Security forces had killed 11 terrorists in two separate operations in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan and North Waziristan districts on the night of April 21.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 — marking a record six-year high.

KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.