Security forces have killed five terrorists during a fire exchange in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while four soldiers were martyred in the operation, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “During the intense fire exchange, four brave sons of the soil, Naib Subedar Taib Shah (38), Lance Naik Gulab Zaman (30), Lance Naik Muzammil Mehmood (30) and Lance Naik Habibullah (28), having fought gallantly, embraced” martyrdom.“
A sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other Khawarij found in the area, the ISPR said.
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve” it added.
In a move to shift its war on terror from a physical to an ideological front, the government had categorised the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as "Fitna al-Khawarij" earlier this year.
The nation has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.
