4 Army personnel, 15 terrorists killed in NW Pakistan during security ops

At least 15 terrorists, including high-value target ringleaders, and four army personnel were killed in two separate intelligence-based operations in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday.

According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, the two intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were carried out in Dera Ismail and North Waziristan districts of the province.

The first IBO took place in the general area of Hathala in Dera Ismail Khan district where the security forces effectively engaged the terrorists at their location.

Nine of them, including high-value target ringleaders Farman alias Saqib, Kharji Amanullah alias Toori, Kharji Saeed alias Liaqat and Kharji Bilal, were killed, the ISPR said adding that they were involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area and were on the top of the wanted' list of the law enforcement agencies.

The second IBO was conducted in the general area of Miranshah in North Waziristan district where six terrorists were effectively neutralised by the security forces.

However, during an intense fire exchange, Lieutenant Muhammad Hassaan Arshaf, 21, from Lahore district, leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly, and was killed along with his three men, the ISPR said.

The three soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Muhammad Bilal, 39, resident of Dera Ismail Khan district; Sepoy Farhat Ullah, 27, resident of Lakki Marwat district, and Sepoy Himat Khan, 29, resident of Momand district.

The ISPR added that sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area.

According to the army, the security forces conducted a total of 59,775 operations last year during which 925 terrorists were killed, and 383 officers and soldiers were killed.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the Afghan Taliban swept to power in 2021.

The country blames the Afghan Taliban for providing support to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the terror attacks have significantly increased since the banned TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the federal government in 2022.

With at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for the civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade, according to a 2024 report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think-tank.