Security forces killed two terrorists, including a “high-value target”, during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Timergara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Dir, the military’s media wing said on Friday.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security personnel carried out the IBO on the night of April 10-11 on the reported presence of khawarij.

Fitna Al Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned TTP.

The statement said: “During the conduct of operation, [our] own troops surrounded and effectively engaged the khawarij location, and after intense fire exchange, two khawarij including a high value target Kharji Hafeezullah [alias] Kochwan were sent to hell.”

It added that Kharji Hafeezullah was “involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as the innocent civilians”.

He was highly wanted by law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and the government had fixed head money of Rs10 million on him, the ISPR said.

The statement further read that a “sanitisation operation” was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area, adding, “[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”

On Monday, security forces killed nine terrorists, including the ring leader, during an IBO in the Takwara area of KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district.

A day prior to that, security forces killed eight terrorists and injured another four as they thwarted an infiltration attempt on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in KP’s North Waziristan district.

Last month, the government had ruled out a fresh military operation amid a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan.

Militant violence and security operations intensified in the country in March, with the number of militant attacks surpassing 100 for the first time since November 2014, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (Picss).

In KP, at least 206 people were killed — including 49 security personnel, 34 civilians, and 123 militants — while 115 were injured, with 63 security personnel and 49 civilians among them, the Picss report said.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for eliminating the two terrorists.

The president and premier, in their separately issued statements, also appreciated the professional competence of the security forces for carrying out the operation.

“Operations by the security forces will continue till the complete eradication of terrorism. The nation is also firmly resolved to completely eliminate the menace of khawarij,” President Zardari stated.

He said that eliminating the terrorist ringleader during the operation was a major success for the security forces.

In his message, Prime Minister Shehbaz said: “We will continue to thwart the evil designs of the enemies of humanity. Our war against terrorism will continue till the scourge is eliminated in total.”