- Six khwarij shot down in North Waziristan, ISPR says.
- Five terrorists killed in Kurram IBO: military’s media wing.
- Adds Sanitization continues to hunt down remaining militants.
RAWALPINDI: Security forces neutralized 11 terrorists belonging to India’s proxy Fitna al-Khawarij during two separate Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.
The operations were conducted in North Waziristan and Kurram districts on January 8, a press release from the military’s media wing said.
“On January 8, 2026, eleven khwarij belonging to India’s proxy Fitna al-Khawarij were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” ISPR added.
It said that following the reported presence of khwarij, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by the security forces in North Waziristan district.
“During the execution of the operation, the troops effectively engaged the khwarij site and after an intense exchange of fire, six khwarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR press release said.
In a separate engagement, the military’s media wing said five khwarij were effectively neutralized by police and security forces in Kurram district.
“Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the slain India-sponsored khwarij who remained actively involved in several terrorist activities against the security forces, law enforcement agencies and target killing of innocent civilians,” ISPR said.
“Sanitization operations are being carried out to eliminate any other India-sponsored kharji found in the area, as a relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision of ‘Azm e Istehkam’ will continue in full swing to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” it added.
Pakistan has seen an increase in cross-border terrorist incidents since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. The provinces of KP and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, have been particularly affected by these attacks.
ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in his January 6 press release that law enforcement agencies conducted 75,175 IBOs across the country by 2025.
To give an overview, he said that 14,658 IBOs were conducted in KP, 58,778 in Balochistan, while 1,739 operations took place in the rest of the country.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said 5,397 terrorist incidents were reported nationwide during the past year. Of these, 3,811 incidents, he said, occurred in KP, 1,557 in Balochistan and 29 incidents were reported in other parts of the country.
He said 2,597 terrorists were killed during counter-terror operations last year. While giving details of 10 major terror attacks across the country, he said civilians and soft targets had been deliberately targeted and Afghan militants were involved in all attacks.
