Security forces have killed 23 terrorists in multiple intelligence-based operations conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement released on Thursday.

The military’s media wing said the operations were conducted over the last 48 hours in the areas of Datta Khel, Spinwam and Bannu.

“Over the last 48 hours, during the conduct of these series of operations, own troops effectively engaged multiple khwarij locations. Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, twenty three more khwarij belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khwarij,” said the ISPR.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan.

Among those killed was ring leader Jan Meer alias Toor Saqib, said the ISPR, adding that the ring leader’s death will give “a significant blow to the khwarij networks operating in these areas”.

Meer was wanted by security forces, and the government had announced a bounty on him due to his “active involvement in numerous terrorist activities, including the killing of security personnel and innocent civilians”.

The military said that during the sanitisation operations, a series of complex underground tunnels and bunkers used by terrorists were also discovered and destroyed by security forces.

Weapons, ammunition and a large cache of explosives, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered from the killed terrorists.

“Sanitisation operations continue to eliminate holed up khwarij from these areas, as relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under 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 the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” said the ISPR.

Despite record militant deaths, Pakistan saw a sharp escalation in militant violence in 2025, with terrorist attacks rising by 34 per cent and terrorism-related fatalities increasing by 21 per cent year on year, according to a report released by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

KP in particular has seen a rise in terrorist attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the province recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.

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

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.

Security forces killed 22 India-sponsored terrorists in North Waziristan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Tuesday.

Last month, security forces killed 22 terrorists in a joint IBO in KP’s Khyber District, the military’s media wing said.