PESHAWAR: 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, 13 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).

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

‘Commander’ among three militants killed by security forces following Mamand Khel quadcopter attack

It added that the security forces conducted an IBO, engaged the terrorists, adding that during an intense exchange of fire, seven militants were killed.

It further read 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 concluded.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, especially in KP and Balo­chistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, vowing to attack security forces, police, and law enforcement personnel.

In October, Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies said that violence had surged in the country over the past three months due to a spike in militant attacks and intensified counter-terrorism operations.

Three militants killed

Separately, three militants, including a ‘commander’, were killed and another injured in a joint operation carried out by the security forces and police in Bannu on Sunday.

A Bannu police official said the operation was carried out following a quadcopter attack, which claimed the lives of three boys near a school in Mamand Khel area of the district.

“The three slain militants were identified as commander Danish, also known as Insaaf alias Sabawoon from the banned Tahreek-Taliban Pakistan Gandapur group; a target killer Abu Saleh Dawar Jarari of the Jarari Force; and Atta-ur-Rehman, a resident of Spin Wam in North Waziristan,” Bannu District Police Officer Yasir Afridi told Dawn.

He added that another militant, Darvesh, suffered serious injuries in the attack.

The official highlighted that public cooperation was a key factor in the success of security operations.

“Victory in the fight against militancy is not possible without local support,” he continued.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2025