Six soldiers embraced martyrdom while 12 terrorists were killed during two encounters in North and South Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Friday.

According to the military’s media wing, security forces on Thursday detected the movement of seven terrorists trying to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan’s Spinwam area, the statement said.

“The infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense fire exchange, all seven khawarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR said, adding that a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered from the slain terrorists.

In July, the government, through an official notification, designated the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.

In a separate incident, a group of terrorists attacked a security forces checkpoint in South Waziristan’s Ladha area, the statement added.

“Own troops fought bravely, foiling the attempts of intrusion, and killed five khawarij,” the statement said.

“However, during an intense exchange of fire, six brave sons of the soil, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.”

The statement said that sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other khariji present in the area as security forces were determined to eliminate the “menace of terrorism” from the country.

“Such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR said.

The country has lately witnessed a sharp uptick in the number of attacks targeting security forces, other law enforcement agencies, and security checkpoints, particularly in Balochistan and KP.

Attacks escalated after the TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022 and vowed to target security forces.

On September 6, four terrorists were killed when they tried to attack the Frontier Corps headquarters in KP’s Mohmand district.

In August, three soldiers were martyred and five terrorists were killed after security forces foiled an infiltration attempt at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the province’s Bajaur district.