Two high-value terrorist commanders among 9 killed in two separate KP operations

• Killed militants involved in numerous terror activities: ISPR.
• Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered, it says.
• Forces continue sanitisation operations in areas after IBOs.

Security forces eliminated a total of nine terrorists, including two “high-value targets”, in two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Monday.

As many as seven terrorists — including terrorist commanders Najeeb aka Abdul Rehman and Ishfaq alias Muavia — were eliminated by the security forces in an intelligence-based operation conducted in the general area of Tira, Khyber District, the military's media wing said.

The killed militants were actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area and were wanted by law enforcement agencies. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the slain terrorists.

In another operation conducted in KP's Lakki Marwat district, troops effectively engaged terrorists’ location in which two more terrorists were sent to hell, the ISPR said.

Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any terrorist found in the area as the security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country, the military’s media wing concluded.

Pakistan has witnessed a spike in terrorist attacks, specifically in areas bordering Afghanistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces which was attributed to banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistan has time and again raised its concerns with the interim Taliban government over the use of Afghan soil by various militant organisations including the TTP to launch attacks inside Pakistan.

In continuation of its counter-terrorism drive, security forces had carried out as many as 7,745 anti-terror operations from April 1 to June 10 in their bid to curb the scourge of terrorism facing the country, sources told Geo News last month.

These operations were carried out in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh — of which the most 4,902 were conducted in Balochistan followed by 2,701 in KP and 142 in Sindh, the sources added.

With a total of 181 militants killed in these operations, 128 were neutralised in KP, whereas, 51 in Balochistan and two were gunned down in Sindh.

In a latest move, the federal government last week approved a fresh operation — Operation Azm-e-Istehkam — a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive, to eliminate terrorism from the country.

Amid concerns over the impacts of the newly-launched operation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified that it was not a large-scale military operation and that there would be no population displacement.