Two soldiers have been martyred and 15 terrorists killed in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the intelligence-based operations (IBO) were conducted on Friday and Saturday.

The ISPR said eight terrorists were “sent to hell” after troops effectively engaged them at their location during an IBO in Karak district based on the reported militant presence.

It said that four more were killed by the security forces in another IBO in North Waziristan district.

“However, during the intense fire exchange, two brave sons of soil, Lance Naik Usman Mohmand (age: 28 years, resident of Charsadda district) and Sepoy Imran Khan (age: 26 years, resident of Kurram district) having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom,” the ISPR said.

It added that troops “successfully neutralised” three more terrorists in another encounter in South Waziristan district’s general area of Gomal Zam.

The ISPR said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists who were actively involved in numerous terror activities.

It added that sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the areas. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR concluded.

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

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

Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent over the past year to 1,081.