Security forces killed 27 terrorists in operations conducted in the Miranshah area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district over the past 72 hours, the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday.

“In continuation of a series of intelligence-based operations, security Forces engaged multiple khawarij locations in the general area Miranshah, North Waziristan District,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

It added that after “fierce exchanges of fire”, 27 terrorists belonging to “India-sponsored Fitna al Khawarij were sent to hell”.

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

ISPR said weapons and ammunition were found in the possession of the slain terrorists, who remained “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities and target killing of innocent civilians”.

“By neutralising this group of killed khawarij, the heinous act of target killing of prominent figure Shaheed Malik Saifullah Dawar in Miranshah has been avenged, and perpetrators have been brought to justice,” the statement read.

It added that sanitisation operations were ongoing to eliminate holed up terrorists from these areas, “as a relentless counter-terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i-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”.

Meanwhile, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to security forces for successful operations in North Waziristan that resulted in the killing of 27 terrorists.

In their separate statements, they reaffirmed the national resolve to continue the war against terrorism till the menace was completely eradicated, the report said.          

Tribal elder Dawar’s killing outside his residence in early May had led to an intense gun battle between members of the Darpa Khel tribe and terrorists in Miranshah. Both sides reportedly used automatic weapons, and the firefight lasted for several hours.

Sources said that a day before the killing, suspected militants had allegedly occupied a local mosque, but Saifullah, along with other tribal elders, had intervened and forced them to vacate the premises.

On May 1, a large group of miscreants reportedly returned to the area, called Saifullah out of his house and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot, the sources had added.

On June 2, the district administration imposed Section 144 for an indefinite period in Miranshah subdivision of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan, restricting all movement and traffic amid security concerns.

The measure was widely seen as indicative of an intensification of counter-militancy operations in North Waziristan, with the administration taking extraordinary precautions to forestall any retaliatory action as the area continues to face militancy.

Before the imposition of Section 144, security forces were reported to have foiled a suicide attack by terrorists on a military post near Miranshah.