• ISPR says forces kill 11 terrorists in N. Waziristan, Kurram raids
• One killed, two held in Khyber
• Two CTD men martyred in Peshawar, Bajaur attacks
• JUI-F leader dies after South Waziristan blast; Fazl condemns attacks on clerics

PESHAWAR: At least 12 terrorists were killed in multiple counterterrorism operations and gun battles in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday, while violence elsewhere in the province left two Counter-Terrorism Dep­artment (CTD) personnel martyred in targeted attacks and claimed the life of a senior JUI-F leader who succumbed to injuries from a bomb blast a day earlier in South Waziristan.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said security forces carried out two intelligence-based operations on Thursday after receiving information about the presence of terrorists.

It said the first operation was conducted in North Waziristan, where troops engaged a terrorists’ location and gunned down six of them in an exchange of fire. The second operation, conducted jointly by police and security forces in Kurram district, resulted in the killing of five terrorists, the statement said.

ISPR said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead terrorists, whom it described as “Indian-sponsored khwarij”. It said the terrorists had been involved in attacks on security forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as the targeted killing of civilians.

The military’s media wing said sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any remaining terrorists in the areas, adding that counterterrorism operations under the “Azm-i-Istehkam” vision would continue.

Separately, one terrorist was killed, another injured and two were arrested during an exchange of gunfire in the Malagori area of Khyber district, sources told Dawn on Saturday. Residents alerted security forces after spotting a group moving towards the hilly locality of Murad Dhand near the Khunarri dam, the sources added.

The sources said security forces, aided by local armed volunteers, engaged the terrorists, while gunship helicopters and artillery were also called to pound the terrorists’ position.

A video circulating after the clash showed two blindfolded suspects in custody amid a crowd of residents, while an army official urged local volunteers not to shelter terrorists.

Local sources said it was the first such clash in Malagori, where Chinese engineers and workers are stationed for maintenance work at the Warsak Dam and the construction of an irrigation canal from the dam to Peshawar.

CTD officials martyred

Meanwhile, a CTD official was martyred by unidentified motorcyclists in the jurisdiction of the Regi police station in Peshawar on Saturday, police said. Police spokesperson Alam Khan said the official, identified as Sanaullah, was targeted in the Regi area and a search operation was launched.

Another CTD official was martyred in Bajaur’s War Mamund tehsil on Saturday evening after unknown gunmen opened fire on him.

Police and residents said the attack took place in Mena Bazaar, about 25 kilometres from Khar, the district headquarters. War Mamund SHO Aslam Khan said the official, identified as Saifur Rehman, 40, died while being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar.

JUI-F leader dies of wounds

Separately, a senior Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader and district president of Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia, Maulana Sultan Muhammad Wazir, died on Saturday after sustaining injuries in a bomb blast near a madrassa in Wana bazaar a day earlier. Police said an explosive device went off near a religious seminary in the Konra Cheena area of Wana in Lower South Waziristan, leaving Mr Wazir critically wounded. He was shifted towards Dera Ismail Khan for treatment but died on the way, officials said.

Lower South Waziristan DPO Muhammad Tahir Shah Wazir said investigations were underway.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman con­demned the attack, saying it was not only an assault on an individual but on “a moderate, peaceful and democratic ideology”.

He said the repeated targeting of religious scholars in South Waziristan was alarming and required urgent attention from the state. Party leaders reiterated their commitment to peaceful political struggle, religious harmony, democratic values and constitutional supremacy.

In a separate incident in Upper South Waziristan, peace committee chief Qadeem Khan sustained minor injuries when an improvised explosive device targeted his vehicle in the Barwand area of Serwekai tehsil, police said.

DPO Arshad Khan said the vehicle was damaged in the blast and the injured was shifted to a local hospital, where he was reported to be out of danger. Police cordoned off the area, collected evidence and launched a search for the attackers.

With input from Khyber, Bajaur and South Waziristan

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026