ISLAMABAD: Two soldiers and 15 militants were killed as Pakistani security forces launched three separate operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Saturday.
Pakistani militant network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has intensified attacks in the region in recent years. Pakistan refers to TTP fighters as “khwarij,” a term rooted in Islamic history for an extremist sect that rebelled against authority and declared other Muslims to be apostates.
“On 25-26 April 2025, fifteen khwarij were killed in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province,” the ISPR said in a statement.
The operations were conducted in Karak, North Waziristan and South Waziristan districts.
In Karak, eight militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation.
“In an another operation conducted in North Waziristan District, four khwarij were killed by the security forces,” the statement continued. “However, during the intense fire exchange, two brave sons of soil, Lance Naik Usman Mohmand (age: 28 years, resident of District Charsadda) and Sepoy Imran Khan (age: 26 years, resident of District Kurram) having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom].”
The ISPR said that in South Waziristan’s Gomal Zam area, three more militants were killed. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead militants, who, according to the statement, were involved in “numerous terrorist activities.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for the successful operations and paid tribute to the soldiers who died.
“The entire nation stands with the security forces in the fight against terrorism,” he said in a statement circulated by his office.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence, particularly in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwestern Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Islamabad accuses TTP factions operating from Afghanistan of fueling unrest, a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.
