Security forces have killed five terrorists during an exchange of fire in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while four soldiers were martyred in the operation, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “During the intense fire exchange, four brave sons of the soil, Naib Subedar Taib Shah (38), Lance Naik Gulab Zaman (30), Lance Naik Muzammil Mehmood (30) and Lance Naik Habibullah (28), having fought gallantly, embraced” martyrdom.“

A sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other Khawarij found in the area, the ISPR said.

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

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.

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 November 2, four terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in KP’s South Waziristan region.

In another incident on Nov 4, security forces killed seven terrorists in separate operations on Monday, with one terrorist killed in Balochistan and the other six killed during two operations in KP.