ISLAMABAD (MNN); Security forces eliminated 22 militants during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
According to the military, the action was launched following confirmed information about the presence of militants linked to the group referred to as Indian Proxy Fitna al Khwarij — a term officially used for members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The ISPR said troops engaged the hideout and, after a heavy exchange of fire, 22 militants were killed. A clearance operation is underway to locate and neutralise any remaining militants in the area.
The statement added that the ongoing counter-terror strategy under Azm-i-Istehkam — approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan — will continue with full force to eradicate foreign-backed terrorism from Pakistan.
Two days earlier, 22 militants were also killed in a similar intelligence-based operation in Bannu, the ISPR said.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, mainly in KP and Balochistan, following the breakdown of the TTP ceasefire with the government in late 2022.
