ISLAMABAD: At least 10 terrorists were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media affairs wing said on Friday.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the terrorists belonged to Indian-sponsored Fitna al Khwarij — a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

It said that in the first encounter, a group of terrorists attempted to attack security forces’ posts in Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan. “The attempt was effectively thwarted by own troops. During ensuing fire exchange, eight khwarij were sent to hell through effective and precise engagements by own troops,” it said.

“In another encounter that took place in Dir district, own troops successfully neutralised two more khwarij,” it added.

Attack on security posts thwarted, says ISPR

The ISPR said that weapons and ammunition were also seized from killed terrorists, who had remained “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”.

It said sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area, adding that the counterterrorism campaign would continue at full pace to wipe out “the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.

President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the country’s security forces for eliminating the terrorists and commended their professionalism in thwarting the attack in Azam Warsak.

“The nation stands with its brave security forces and law enforcement agencies and views their sacrifices against terrorism with utmost appreciation,” he said, adding that the nefarious designs of terrorist elements active under Indian sponsorship would be thwarted at any cost.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also praised security forces for the successful operations. He said the government and the entire nation stood with the security forces in the war against terrorism.

Over a week ago, the military’s media wing stated that multiple “intelligence-based area sanitisation and targeted operations” were conducted in KP’s Khyber district on July 28 and 29, during which as many as 24 terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij were killed.

According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, violence linked to terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations intensified sharply in July, making it the deadliest month of this year, with 112 security personnel among 205 people killed.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2026