RAWALPINDI: Security forces gunned down 10 terrorists in the Pezu area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Tuesday.
The terrorists were killed when the security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation on the “reported presence of terrorists”, the military’s media wing mentioned in a statement.
Whilst the operation was underway, an intense exchange of fire took place between the Pakistani troops and the militants, and resultantly, “ten terrorists were sent to hell”.
“These terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion [and] killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR said.
Following the successful operation, the security forces recovered a large cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives from the dead militants.
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In response, locals of the area appreciated the operation, the ISPR said, noting that the “security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country”.
With a spike in terror activities since Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced an end to a ceasefire with Pakistan last year in November, the forces have ramped up operations against militants.
Pakistani authorities have blamed Afghanistan for allowing militants to use its soil, with interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti saying that 14 of 24 suicide bombings in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.
The government, as a result of these activities, has ordered all illegal immigrants, including 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to leave the country or face expulsion.
According to a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 271 militant attacks took place during the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals.
