Eight terrorists were killed after security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday.

According to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted last night on the “reported presence of terrorists in the area”.

The press release said that an intense exchange of fire took place between the security forces and Khawarij during the operation and, as a result, eight terrorists were “sent to hell”.

While it wasn’t mentioned in the statement which terrorist group was involved in the attack, 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.

Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had confirmed the same a month later.

“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased terrorist, who remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and targeted innocent civilians as well, the ISPR statement said in its press release today.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area as security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” it added.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the security forces for killing terrorists.

According to a post on the interior ministry’s X account, Naqvi said that the security forces took timely action to eliminate the terrorists.

“Salute to the brave soldiers of the security force,” he said.

Pakistan 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.

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.

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

On September 20, six soldiers were martyred while 12 terrorists were killed during two encounters in North and South Waziristan districts.