Seven Terrorists Killed in North Waziristan Intelligence-Based Operation, Says Radio Pakistan

Security forces have killed seven militants in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.

The group belonged to what the state calls "Fitna al Khawarij," its term for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Security sources said a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the slain militants, and that their hideouts were destroyed during the operation.

Political Leadership Praises the Operation

President Asif Ali Zardari commended the security forces for the operation. In a statement, he said "the conspiracies of the terrorists' foreign patrons and their local facilitators will be thwarted at any cost." He added that the entire nation stands with the security forces in the fight against terrorism.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also paid tribute to the forces for their operations against the group, according to Radio Pakistan. He reaffirmed the government's resolve to eradicate terrorism from the country completely.

Series of Recent Operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Friday's operation follows a run of similar actions in the province over the past several days:

• Nine militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan a day earlier.

• On Wednesday, 13 were killed in another operation in the same district.

• On Tuesday, state media reported five militants killed in North Waziristan.

• Seven were killed on October 2.

Operations in late September included three militants killed in Mir Ali on September 30, five in the Bara area on September 29, and four in Dera Ismail Khan on September 28. Security forces also killed 10 militants in separate operations in the province between September 15 and 17, and over 20 during multiple engagements between September 3 and 5.

Security Situation in the Province

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has faced persistent security challenges. Data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) show the province, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August, compared with 36 in July, an increase of 50 per cent.

In September, a suicide blast targeting the Aman Mela police checkpost in Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan on September 26 killed 12 people and injured 35 others. Another major attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat on September 18 left 23 people dead and about 100 injured. Eight militants were killed in an overnight clearance operation following that attack.