Eight terrorists killed in Tank, Khyber

Security forces killed eight terrorists in two separate engagements in the Tank and Khyber districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the military said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the ISPR, six terrorists belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Tank district and an encounter two during an encounter in the Tirah Valley of Khyber district.

"On 12-13 January 2024, eight khwarij were sent to hell in two separate engagements in Khyber-Pakhutunkhwa Province," the statement said, adding that the Tank IBO was carried out on the reported presence of the terrorists there.

"During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged Khwarij location and resultantly six Khwarij were sent to hell," it added. "In another encounter that took place in general area [of] Tirah valley, Khyber District, own troops successfully neutralized two Khwarij."

Following the operations, according to the ISPR statement, sanitisation operations were being conducted to "eliminate any other Kharji found in the area". It added that the security forces of Pakistan were determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in their separate statements, commended security forces for killing eight terrorists and reaffirmed their commitment to the eradication of the menace of terrorism from the country.

"The entire nation stands with its brave security forces for the complete elimination of Khwarij," the president said. "The nefarious designs of terrorists will continue to be thwarted in this manner," stated the prime minister.

Shehbaz said that the nation took pride in the brave personnel of the security forces. "The government and the security forces are actively working to completely eradicate terrorism from the country," the prime minster added.