High-value terrorist commander among 4 militants gunned down in Peshawar IBO: ISPR

• Security forces conduct IBO in Peshawar's Badabera area. 
• Soldier martyred in separate operation conducted in DI Khan.
• ISPR says security forces determined to eliminate terrorism. 

RAWALPINDI: Four militants, including a high-value terrorist commander, were gunned down by security forces in an intelligence-based operation in the suburbs of Peshawar, said the military’s media wing in a statement on Thursday.

As per the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted in the general area, Badaber, Peshawar District, on the reported presence of terrorists.

During the operation the Pakistani troops troops “effectively engaged” the miscreants which led to the killing of the four terrorists including a “high-value terrorist” Samiullah alias “Shenay”.

Terrorist commander Salman alias “Ahmed”, Imran alias “Muhammad” and Hazrat Umar alias “Khalid” were highly wanted by law enforcement agencies, the statement added.

“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, including extortion and target killings in the area,” said the ISPR.

In a separate operation, a 34-year-old soldier was martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the general area Kulachi of Dera Ismail Khan District.

The martyred soldier was identified as Lance Naik Muhammad Ejaz Khan who was a resident of Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“Sanitisation of the surrounding areas is being carried out to neutralise any other terrorists found in the area as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country,” said the ISPR.

The nation of 240 million has faced a surge in terrorism in recent months, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant outfits intensifying their actions against security forces.

In response, the state has also launched operations to curb terrorism.

Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in a report released in October, noted that the security forces lost at least 386 personnel in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high.

In the third quarter of 2023, some 445 people lost their lives and 440 suffered injuries from as many as 190 terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for nearly 94% of all fatalities and 89% of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) recorded during this period.