Security forces on Thursday killed a total of eight terrorists as a result of separate operations carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts, the military’s media wing said in a statement.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, an intelligence-based operation was conducted in the general Sararogha area of the South Waziristan District on December 5 upon the reported presence of terrorists there.

“During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s location as a result of which two khwarij, including kharji ring leader Khan Muhammad [alias] Khoryay, were killed,” the statement said.

The statement added that two other terrorists were arrested by the forces during the operation.

“The killed kharji Khan Muhammad @ Khoryay was involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area including target killing & extortion,” the statement said, detailing that he was a highly sought target for law enforcement, with the government setting a bounty of Rs1 million for his capture.

The ISPR said that another intelligence-based operation was conducted in the Lakki Marwat District of the province.

“After an intense fire exchange, six khwarij were successfully neutralised by the security forces,” it said.

“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other kharji found in the area, as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”

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.

A day prior, the ISPR said five terrorists were killed and two others were injured during an intelligence-based operation in Lakki Marwat.

On November 23, three terrorists were killed in two separate security operations in Khyber and South Waziristan districts while a policeman and a local elder were martyred in roadside bomb explosions in Bajaur tribal district.

Twelve personnel were martyred while six terrorists were killed after a checkpost was targeted in the Mali Khel area of KP’s Bannu on Nov 19.

At least 245 people, including 68 security personnel, were killed in a string of terrorist attacks and clashes across Pakistan in November.

The fatalities included 127 terrorists, and 50 civilians, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, on Sunday.

November is the second deadliest month after August, when 254 people lost their lives, including 92 civilians, 108 militants, and 54 security forces personnel.

However, in terms of casualties involving security personnel, it is the deadliest month this year compared to October when 62 soldiers were killed.