Security forces have killed 13 terrorists in two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday.
A statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operations were conducted on January 13-14, during which “Indian Proxy Fitna-al-Khawarij” were killed.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term designated for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban by the state.
The ISPR statement said one of the intelligence-based operations was carried out in KP’s Bannu district on the reported presence of terrorists.
“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, eight khawarij were sent to hell,” it added.
ISPR further stated that another intelligence-based operation was conducted by security forces in KP’s Kurram district.
“In the ensuing fire exchange, five khawarij were effectively neutralised,” it added.
ISPR further stated that sanitisation operations were being conducted to “eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area as relentless counter-terrorism campaign under [the] vision [of] “Azm-i-Istehkam” (as approved by federal apex committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.
Earlier this week, four terrorists were killed by security forces during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan‘s Kalat district, according to the ISPR.
These operations take place as Pakistan continues to grapple with the issue of terrorism.
Despite record militant deaths, Pakistan saw a sharp escalation in militant violence in 2025, with terrorist attacks rising by 34 per cent and terrorism-related fatalities increasing by 21 per cent year on year, according to a report released by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies.
In a press conference last week, the Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry shared that law enforcement agencies of Pakistan — including the army, police, Federal Constabulary, and intelligence agencies — conducted a total of 75,175 IBOs in 2025.
Breaking it down, he said 14,658 operations were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other regions of Pakistan.
He added that 5,397 terror incidents took place in Pakistan in 2025, of which 3,811 were reported from KP (71pc), 1,557 from Balochistan (29pc), and 29 from other areas.
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