Security forces killed three terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in the Mir Ali area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, state broadcaster PTV reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.

The sources added that hideouts of the Fitna al Khawarij were targeted in Mir Ali and surrounding areas. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the terrorists killed during the operation, security sources said.

According to PTV, security forces also thwarted an attempt by the terrorists to intercept a ration truck near the Mir Ali Bazaar.

It added that security forces were committed to the complete elimination of terrorism under the counter-terrorism campaign ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have lauded security forces for their successful operation in Mir Ali, Radio Pakistan reported.

President Asif Ali Zardari said that the operation against terrorism would continue to ensure peace in the country, adding that the designs of the terrorists would be foiled at all costs.

PM Shehbaz, meanwhile, held that eliminating terrorism remained the government’s top priority, according to state media.

KP has been witnessing terrorist attacks and security challenges for a long time. The province, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August compared with 36 in July, representing an increase of 50 per cent, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

A day earlier, in an IBO in KP’s Bara area, security forces killed five terrorists. On Monday, four terrorists were killed during an IBO in Dera Ismail Khan.

Last week, a dozen people lost their lives while 35 others were injured in a suicide blast that targeted the Aman Mela police checkpost in DI Khan’s Darazinda tehsil.

On Sept 18, a major attack in the old Police Lines in KP’s Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation.

On Sept 17, security forces killed 10 terrorists in separate operations in KP between Sept 15 and 17. Earlier in the month, over 20 terrorists were killed during multiple engagements in KP between Sept 3 and 5.