Terrorist killed in North Waziristan IBO: ISPR

• ISPR says security forces conducted IBO in North Waziristan. 
• "Khawarji" Razzaq "sent to hell" after intense exchange of gunfire.
• Terrorist was "close associate of Khawarji Gul Bahadur", says ISPR.

Security forces killed a terrorist during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan district carried out on the reported presence of militants, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Friday.

"On 26 July 24, the security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan District on the reported presence of terrorists," said the army's media wing.

During the conduct of the operation, "Khawarji terrorist Razzaq was sent to hell" after an intense exchange of gunfire, according to the statement.

The terrorist was a "close associate of Khawarji Gul Bahadur" and was actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area, including the target-killing of Malik Sher Muhammad, grandson of Faqir of Ippi on January 6, 2023 as well as the facilitation of a suicide bombing attack in North Waziristan on March 16, 2024 which resulted in shahadat of seven brave soldiers, the statement added.

The ISPR further said that sanitisation operation was launched to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area as the security forces of Pakistan remain determined to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country.

A day earlier, forces killed a terrorist in yet another IBO conducted in Balochistan's Hoshab district where they engaged in a gun battle with the terrorists, the ISPR had said.

Earlier this week, security forces killed three terrorists, thwarting their attempt to infiltrate Pakistan via the Afghanistan border in district Dir of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as per the ISPR.

Last month, the federal government approved launching a strategic campaign "Azm-e-Istehkam", a renewed national anti-terror drive, as the country has witnessed a rise in terrorist attacks and cross-border infiltration, especially in KP and Balochistan, during recent months.

Islamabad has time and again called on the interim Afghan administration in Kabul to prevent banned militant outfits from using its soil for attacks against Pakistan.

The country, during the second quarter of 2024 witnessed 380 violence-linked fatalities and 220 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 240 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, said a Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) Annual Security report.

This includes 236 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel, the report said.

KP and Balochistan, both of which share borders with neighbouring Afghanistan, have faced the brunt of terrorist attacks and reported nearly 92% of all fatalities and 87% of attacks — wherein the former suffered 67% and the latter 25% of all fatalities in the second quarter of 2024.