Peshawar:
At least 22 terrorists were eliminated while six soldiers were killed during three separate operations over two days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, media wing of the army said on Saturday.
The intelligence-based operations (IBO) took place in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa’s Tank, North Waziristan, and Thall districts from December 6 to 7, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
In Tank district, the troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location in Gul Imam area on the reported presence of terrorists resulting in the death of nine terrorists while six were injured.
At least 10 terrorists were successfully neutralised in North Waziristan while in the third encounter, as per the ISPR, the security forces thwarted terrorists’ attempt to attack a check post in Thall district during which three terrorists were killed.
However, six soldiers were also killed during the intense exchange of fire, the ISPR said adding, sanitisation operations have been launched in the area.
Province’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, paid tributes to the six security personnel and extended heartfelt sympathies to their families.
There has been an uptick in terrorism incidents by operators and separatist groups in Pakistan in recent months as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other operator outfits have intensified actions against security forces. It has prompted the security forces and the local police to intensify operations against the terrorists.
The third quarter (July-September) of 2024 saw a sharp increase in fatalities of terrorist violence and counter-terrorism campaigns, with a 90 per cent surge in violence, according to a report issued by think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
A total of 722 people, including civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, were killed while 615 others wounded in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the period under review.
Nearly 97 per cent of these fatalities occurred in KP and Balochistan – marking the highest percentage in a decade, and over 92 per cent of these incidents of terror attacks and security forces’ operations were recorded in the same provinces.
The total fatalities from three quarters of this year have now surpassed the total fatalities recorded for the entire 2023; with the number of fatalities rising to at least 1,534 in the first three quarters compared to 1,523 in 2023.
Meanwhile, terrorist groups continue to reorganise and beef up their ranks. Most of the terror attacks remained unclaimed by terrorist or insurgent groups, likely for tactical reasons, as per the report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
