16 terrorists killed, two soldiers martyred in K-P operations: ISPR

Two Afghan nationals among slain terrorists as weapons, ammunition recovered

Security forces killed 16 terrorists, including two Afghan nationals, during intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in the North Waziristan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) over the past 12 hours, while two soldiers embraced martyrdom, the military's media wing said on Saturday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces engaged multiple terrorist locations in the general areas of Mir Ali, Datta Khel and surrounding areas.

Following intense exchanges of fire, "12 khawarij, including two Afghan nationals belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij, were sent to hell in Ali Khel, while two khawarij each were neutralised in Mir Ali and Datta Khel, thereby causing a significant blow to the khwarijs’ network operating in the area."

Fitna al-Khawarij is the term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

It identified the two soldiers who embraced martyrdom during the engagements as Havildar Asmat Ali, 43, a resident of Swabi district, and Naik Aftab Ali, 32, from Mardan district. “Both fought gallantly” before making the ultimate sacrifice, the ISPR said.

Read: K-P terror threat persists: advisor

The statement further said that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists belonging to the Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij. It said they had been involved in several terrorist activities, including the killing of civilians.

Sanitisation operations would continue to eliminate remaining holed-up khawarij from these areas, as relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under the vision “Azm-e-Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices further strengthen our resolve, the statement concluded.

A day earlier, security forces killed 74 terrorists during IBOs in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, 35 terrorists belonging to the Fitna al-Khawarij were killed in Mir Ali and eight terrorists were killed in Orakzai.

Terrorism is a growing problem for Pakistan, with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organisation. Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022.

The scale of the threat continued to grow in 2026. Two security reports presented to the federal cabinet in October showed that terrorist incidents in K-P had increased by 195% between March 2024 and September 2026.

Read More: Lack of political ownership weakened counterterrorism efforts, says K-P governor

The reports also found that 73% of attacks recorded in the province during 2026 had targeted police and security personnel, while the use of drones and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had emerged as growing threats.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

A United Nations Security Council monitoring report published in February 2026 supported Islamabad's concerns, saying TTP attacks originating from Afghanistan had increased and that the group was being afforded greater liberty and support by Afghanistan's de facto authorities.