Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Lower Dir police killed six suspected terrorists during an operation in the district’s hilly areas on Wednesday, according to an official statement.

The statement, issued by the CTD, said the slain individuals were “most-wanted terrorists” who had been involved in a recent attack on the Badwan Bridge checkpost in Lower Dir, in which Constable Mohammad Ismail was martyred.

According to the statement, the CTD and district police had cordoned off the area after the attack on the Badwan Bridge checkpost.

It said that the CTD and district police received information about the presence of “a group of Fitna-al-Khawarij terrorists in the hilly areas of Lower Dir” and tried to arrest them when they came out of their hideouts in the area.

“But, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on police parties”, the statement said, adding that law enforcers fired back in retaliation.

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

The CTD statement said fire exchange during the operation continued for a long time, and “six terrorists were found dead in the ensuing search operation”.

According to the CTD, the slain individuals were wanted in several cases of terrorism.

“Six Kalashnikovs, three hand grenades and multiple cartridges were found in their possession,” the statement said, adding that the search operation was ongoing to arrest their accomplices who had fled.

The statement said KP Inspector General of Police (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed commended the district police and CTD and affirmed that these operations “will continue with full force until terrorism is eradicated from the province and that the writ of the state will be maintained”.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also praised the CTD and police for the “successful operation”, according to a post by the Interior Ministry on X.

“The interior minister commended the professional expertise of CTD and police for sending six terrorists to hell,” it said.

According to a monthly security assessment released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, Pakistan’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May 2026, driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in KP and Balochistan.

The report said the country witnessed 128 terrorist attacks during May, compared to 101 attacks in April, representing a 27 per cent increase. The rise reversed the downward trend observed during the previous two months and underscored the persistent security challenges confronting conflict-affected regions of the country.

As KP and Balochistan continue to grapple with militancy, with attacks often targeting security personnel and law enforcers, the state has intensified counter-terrorism operations.

Earlier this month, an alleged terrorist commander was killed during an operation in KP’s Bannu district. The deceased was said to be a close associate and facilitator of terrorist commander Akhtar Muhammad and was allegedly involved in several terrorist activities.

Prior to that, the military’s media wing said on June 13 that security forces had killed 27 terrorists in a span of 72 hours in the Miranshah area of KP’s North Waziristan district.