Security forces kill 13 terrorists in two separate KP operations: ISPR

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An image of Pakistan Army personnel in a military vehicle. — AFP/File
An image of Pakistan Army personnel in a military vehicle. — AFP/File

Security forces have killed 13 terrorists during two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday.

“On 12-13 December 2025, thirteen khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

It said that the first intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out on the reported presence of the terrorists in KP’s Mohmand district.

“During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij’s location, and after an intense fire exchange, seven khwarij were sent to hell.”

It added that the second IBO was conducted in the province’s Bannu district, where security forces neutralised six more terrorists.

“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored kharji found in the area as a relentless counterterrorism campaign under [the] vision “Azm e Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the statement said.

Earlier this year, Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent as compared to the previous year. The Global Terrorism Index 2025, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), provides a comprehensive summary of the key trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 17 years.

Last month, security forces eliminated 22 terrorists during an operation in the Bannu district.

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