ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's security forces killed four militants on Wednesday in separate gunbattles in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army's media wing said.
Bajaur and Khyber, part of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) which were later merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, were for long a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban militants who have carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistan's security forces.
Militancy in the districts had declined following Pakistan Army’s operations there, but with the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in 2021, the South Asian country has seen an uptick in violence in areas bordering Afghanistan, particularly after a fragile truce between the TTP and the state broke down in November last year.
“On 27 June, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the general area Inayat Qilla of Bajaur district on the reported presence of terrorists,” the army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
“During the conduct of the operation, intense fire exchange took place between security forces and terrorists, resulting in the killing of three terrorists, including terrorist commander Shafi.”
It added that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain militants, who had remained actively involved in attacks against security forces as well as the killing of innocent citizens.
Security forces carried out a separate operation in the general Tirah area of the Khyber district on Tuesday, killing one militant, the ISPR said in another statement.
“During the operation, after an intense fire exchange, one terrorist was [killed], while another three were injured,” it said.
The ISPR added that the sanitization of the areas is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found there.
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism,” it said.
