Security forces have eliminated 37 terrorists in intelligence-based operations across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and targeted strikes against terrorist camps and hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Monday.
The operations were launched following recent terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and were carried out as part of a coordinated intelligence-based campaign against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), referred to by the government as the Indian proxy Fitna al-Khwarij.
According to the ministry, security forces conducted intelligence-based operations in Kohat, Hangu and Tall on September 20, eliminating nine Khwarij while several others were injured.
Airstrikes were also carried out against terrorist hideouts and safe havens linked to those responsible for recent attacks in the province.
Separately, security forces targeted Fitna al-Khwarij camps and terrorist hideouts in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, successfully destroying three designated targets. The destroyed facilities included a training center for suicide bombers, according to the ministry.
The border operations resulted in the elimination of 28 terrorists, including several suicide bombers, while large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the targeted camps and hideouts were also destroyed.
The ministry’s figures bring the combined number of terrorists eliminated in the latest operations to 37, with nine killed in KP and 28 in the border-area strikes.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s intensified campaign against terrorist networks operating from Afghan territory. In the latest strikes, Pakistan also eliminated key TTP commander Akhtar Muhammad, who was among the 28 terrorists killed in the attacks on terrorist safe havens inside Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Information said Pakistan has consistently sought to maintain peace and stability in the region and that the safety and security of its citizens remains its top priority. It said Pakistan considers the continued presence of terrorist networks in Afghanistan a serious concern and maintains that the threat of terrorism facing Pakistan originates from Afghan territory.
The ministry said the terrorist facilities were targeted with precision and that maximum precautionary measures were adopted during the operations to prevent collateral damage.
The operations are being conducted under Pakistan’s ongoing Ghazab Lil Haq counterterrorism campaign, which, according to the ministry, will continue with full momentum to eliminate terrorism carried out with foreign sponsorship and support from the country.
