Two soldiers were martyred and 14 terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

According to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in continuation of a series of IBOs being conducted by security forces, multiple khwarij locations were engaged in the general areas of Mir Ali, Datta Khel and surrounding areas in North Waziristan.

“Following fierce fire exchanges, in last twelve hours, 12 khwarij, including two Afghan nationals belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in Ali Khel, while two khwarij each were neutralised in Mir Ali and Datta Khel, thereby causing a significant blow to the khwarijs’ network operating in the area,” ISPR said.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term used by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

ISPR said that during the operations, 43-year-old Havildar Asmat Ali and 32-year-old Naik Aftab Ali embraced martyrdom.

“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed Indian-sponsored khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, including the killing of innocent civilians,” it said.

The statement said that sanitisation operations would continue to eliminate “remaining holed up khwarij from these areas”, adding that the counterterrorism campaign would continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored terrorism from the country.

President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces for their successful operation and expressed condolences over the martyrdom of the two soldiers.

He said operations under the ongoing Azm-i-Istehkam campaign against foreign-sponsored terrorism would continue with full force until the elimination of the last terrorist.

The operations come a day after ISPR said 74 terrorists were killed in IBOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

On Friday, it said 43 terrorists were killed during operations conducted in 48 hours in KP, including 35 in Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, and eight in Orakzai district. Another 31 terrorists were killed in Balochistan during an operation launched on Nov 3.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorism, especially in KP and Balochistan since the banned TTP ended its ceasefire deal with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase attacks.

According to Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the country’s security environment continued to show considerable volatility from Oct 30 to Nov 5, 2026, with renewed terrorist activity in parts of KP and the former tribal districts, alongside intensified counterterrorism operations and changing patterns of militant violence.