He says the weapons were recovered from terrorists and they actively participated in numerous terrorist activities.
Security forces killed 24 terrorists in a series of intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and adjoining areas over the last 24 hours, following a recent surge in attacks on police and suicide vehicle attacks in the district, the army’s media wing said on Friday.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operations were launched “in the backdrop of a recent surge in terrorist activities against the police and suicide vehicle attacks in Bannu district, where the Indian proxy Fitna Al Khawarij “They targeted law enforcement agencies and innocent civilians.”
Fitna al-Khawarij is the term that the State uses to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“Security forces had launched extensive intelligence-based joint operations to hunt down the perpetrators of these heinous attacks and their supporting infrastructure,” he added.
The army’s media wing said: “In the last twenty-four hours after the fierce exchanges of fire in Bannu district and adjoining areas, twenty-four kwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij “They were murdered.”
Read: Two police officers martyred in two KP attacks
The ISPR said arms and ammunition were also recovered from the dead. Khwarijwho “continued to actively participate in numerous terrorist activities and the murder of innocent civilians.”
“Operations in the area will continue and the perpetrators of these heinous and cowardly acts will be brought to justice, as shown by the relentless campaign against terrorism under the vision”Azm-e-Istehkam“(as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) the Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to eliminate the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the statement concluded.
In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces and law enforcement agencies.
“The timely and effective operations of the security forces against those responsible for the recent terrorist attacks, particularly the cowardly attacks on police personnel and innocent civilians in Bannu, are commendable,” the Prime Minister said. He added that “the entire nation stands behind its brave security personnel.”
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to the fight against terrorism, Prime Minister Shehbaz said, “Complete elimination of the scourge of terrorism and its enablers remains the government’s top priority.”
He also vowed to act against those behind the attacks and said, “The nefarious designs of terrorist elements operating under Indian patronage will be thwarted at all costs and all those involved in such dastardly attacks will be brought to justice.”
The latest operations came after coordinated terrorist attacks in KP on Wednesday. In Bannu, terrorists rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the Miryan police station before engaging in a prolonged shootout with security personnel, injuring six police officers and four civilians. Police said the attackers also blew up a damaged bridge leading to the station in an apparent attempt to delay reinforcements.
Terrorism has increased significantly in KP and Balochistan in recent years. The rise in terrorist activity has raised growing concerns about the security situation in these regions. In response, security forces have been carrying out intensive operations to counter the threat, targeting terrorist groups infiltrating from the Afghan border.
The federal government has been constantly raising its voice in international forums against terrorist sanctuaries operating in Afghanistan and using its soil to launch attacks against Pakistan, a fact witnessed by the United Nations Security Council.
Read more: Five TTP terrorists killed in Bannu
The recent incidents in KP reflect the continuing security challenges facing the region.
On Monday, two police officers were killed and two others injured when a suspected remotely controlled improvised explosive device (IED) hit a police armored personnel carrier during a routine patrol on the Wana-Jandola highway in KP’s Tank district.
On July 3, unidentified attackers carried out two separate acts of sabotage in Bannu district, targeting a government girls’ secondary school and a key link bridge.
Explosives planted inside the Government Girls’ High School in Mama Khel damaged parts of the building, cracked classroom walls and broke windows and doors.
In another incident in the Bachki area of Jani Khel, terrorists placed a drum full of explosives under a major bridge, apparently trying to disrupt transport links. Security forces and the Bomb Disposal Unit defused the device before it could cause damage.
On June 20, at least seven people were killed when a passenger vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device in the region.
