11 Pakistani Soldiers and 19 Terrorists Killed in Counter-Terrorism Operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

New Delhi:

Eleven Pakistani military personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, along with 19 terrorists were killed during a military operation against the Tehreek-e-Tailban Pakistan (also referred to as the Pak Taliban) in Orakzai district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan.

The operation was initiated on Tuesday evening following intelligence about the 'fitna al-khawarij', the term Pakistani authorities use to describe local extremist organizations such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The Army announced that a 'sanitisation' operation would continue to eliminate remaining terrorists in the region.

In a previous incident last month, 17 TTP terrorists were eliminated during a joint services raid on a hideout located in Karak, another district within the violence-plagued Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Three police officers sustained injuries during that confrontation.

This followed an earlier intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan, another northwestern provincial district, where 13 Pakistani Taliban fighters were killed.

Pakistan has experienced an escalation in terrorist activities in recent years, with many attacks claimed by separatist groups and the TTP, which is separate from but aligned with the Afghan Taliban.

TTP activities have intensified since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, with numerous TTP leaders and fighters believed to have sought sanctuary in Afghanistan.

The severity of violence and military responses in the region was highlighted last month when Pakistani forces bombed a village in the Tirah Valley that allegedly harbored terrorists.

Thirty civilians, including women and children, lost their lives in an operation targeting a TTP bomb-manufacturing facility that reportedly used civilians as 'human shields'.

Overall, terrorism-related violence in Pakistan has increased by approximately 46 percent in just the past three months, with Pakistani think tanks documenting at least 901 fatalities and 599 injuries, including civilians, resulting from 329 terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces - both sharing porous borders with Afghanistan - have borne the brunt of the violence, accounting for over 96 percent of all violent incidents across the country.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has suffered the most, experiencing nearly 71 percent of all violence-related deaths and over 67 percent of violent incidents.

With inputs from agencies

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