Security forces killed four terrorists on Friday in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Mastung area, the military’s media wing said in a statement.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the IBO was carried out on the reported presence of terrorists belonging to Fitna al Hindustan.

The state uses the term Fitna al Khwarij to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. It later designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

“During the conduct of [the] operation, own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” said the ISPR.

The statement added that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the dead terrorists, who remained actively involved in terrorist activities in the area.

“[A] sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian sponsored terrorism from the country, and reaffirm the nation’s unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice,” the ISPR said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi commended the security forces for the successful operation.

“Pakistan’s security forces thwarted the nefarious designs of Indian-backed terrorists,” he wrote on X. “I pay tribute to the security forces for their successful operation against Indian-sponsored terrorists.”

A day prior, security forces killed 19 terrorists in three separate operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to an ISPR statement.

Pakistan has lately been witnessing an uptick in terrorist activities, mainly in KP and Balochistan. In November 2022, the TTP, after breaking a ceasefire deal with the government, had vowed to escalate attacks against the security forces, the police, and other law enforcement agencies’ personnel.