A wanted terrorist ringleader was killed along with four other militants in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Spinwam area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, security sources said on Thursday.

As per security sources, Kharji Umar alias Jan Mir alias Tor Saqib had a bounty of Rs3 million on his head. It said that the Fitna al Khawarij ringleader was the mastermind of several attacks on security forces and civilians.

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

The security sources said that he had also laid down a network of underground bunkers, tunnels and explosive traps in the area around Bubali Mosque in Spinwam.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi lauded the security forces for the operation, particularly the elimination of the ringleader, terming it a “major success,” as per a statement issued via the interior ministry.

Naqvi vowed that “terrorists and their facilitators will not be allowed to thrive under any circumstances”.

Earlier this week, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said security forces killed 22 India-sponsored terrorists in North Waziristan.

It added that an area sanitisation operation had been underway since May 17 in North Waziristan’s Shewa general area, “based on credible intelligence leads with respect to the presence of khwarij”.

There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan, especially in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned TTP. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Last week, a major-ranked officer was among five soldiers martyred during an area sanitisation operation in Balochistan’s Barkhan district.

Due to a resurgence of militancy, especially in KP and Balochistan, where attacks often target security personnel and LEAs, the state has intensified counter-terrorism operations.

Earlier this month, security forces killed five terrorists in two separate engagements in KP’s Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts. In early April, eight terrorists were killed along the Pak-Afghan border in North Waziristan.