The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Pakistani security forces killed 13 militants during an intelligence-based operation in the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state media reported Wednesday, according to Dawn.
Pakistan Television, citing security sources, said the
forces killed 13 members of what the state calls “Fitna al-Khawarij” during the
operation in North Waziristan. The term is used by Pakistani authorities for
members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The operation was carried out as part of Pakistan’s ongoing
counterterrorism campaign under the Azm-i-Istehkam initiative, state media
reported.
The latest operation came a day after security forces killed
five militants in another intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan,
according to state media reports cited by Dawn.
North Waziristan has remained a major focus of Pakistan’s
counterterrorism operations as militant attacks continue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The province, excluding its merged tribal districts,
recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August, compared with 36 in July, a 50%
increase, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and
Security Studies, Dawn reported.
Security forces have carried out several operations in the
province in recent weeks. On Oct. 2, seven militants were killed in an
intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan.
On Sept. 30, three militants were killed in an operation in
Mir Ali, while five others were killed a day earlier in Bara. Earlier in
September, security forces also reported killing militants in Dera Ismail Khan
and other parts of the province.
The security operations come amid continued militant
violence in the province, including a suicide attack in Dera Ismail Khan on
Sept. 26 that killed at least 12 people and injured 35, according to Dawn. A
major attack in Kohat on Sept. 18 killed 23 people and injured about 100
others.
