Security forces on Sunday killed nine terrorists while conducting two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, with two terrorists arrested and two others wounded, the military’s media wing said in a statement.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “an intelligence-based operation (IBO) was conducted by the security forces in general area Dosalli, on [the] reported presence of Khwarij”.

During the engagement, security forces killed six terrorists, while two others were taken into custody, the ISPR said.

Another IBO was conducted in Esham, where “after intense fire exchange, three Khwarij were neutralised by security forces, while two Khwarij got injured”, the statement read.

The ISPR stated that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, who “remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as target killing of innocent civilians”.

“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,” the statement concluded.

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.

On Friday, the ISPR reported that five terrorists were killed in an IBO in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan.

A statement issued by the media wing said security forces conducted an IBO in DI Khan’s general area of Maddi on the “reported presence” of terrorists. It said security forces “effectively engaged” the terrorists at their location due to which, five, including ringleader Shafiullah alias Shafi were “sent to hell”.

Pakistan has recently witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan.

Terror attacks have increased since the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government. With at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for the civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade.

Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel: 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63 per cent of the total recorded the past year and marking 73pc more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated.

The overall fatalities recorded last year were a record nine-year high, and over 66pc more than in 2023. On average, nearly seven lives were lost daily.