12 terrorists killed in Lakki Marwat operation: ISPR

At least 12 terrorists were killed Tuesday night during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) carried out by security forces in Lakki Marwat, the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) stated.

In a statement, the ISPR said the terrorists belonged to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

In an earlier statement, the police said the terrorists had killed six policemen in an attack in December 2022. They added that the armed men were headed to Tank to carry out an attack.

According to the ISPR, weapons, ammunition and Afghan currency was recovered from the terrorists' possession. The process of identifying the terrorists is underway, police officials stated.

"Terrorists’ movement and activities were being watched by intelligence tentacles for the last one week," the ISPR statement read. Terrorists were lured in by providing a vehicle for escape that was intercepted and neutralised, it added.

Later, a clearance operation was carried out in the area.

Lakki has witnessed an unprecedented increase in terrorist attacks for over a year.

The country is facing rising insurgency, especially in Balochistan and KP, after the outlawed TTP ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November.

Since the start of the war on terror, Pakistan has had over 87,000 casualties. Those martyred included innocent civilians, armed forces and police and other civil armed forces personnel.

The security forces are conducting back-to-back operations to eliminate militants, however, terrorist attacks have seen a rise in the last five months, which have also taken the lives of scores of citizens.

The TTP, according to reports, regrouped in Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover, with Pakistan repeatedly asking the government in the neighbouring country to ensure that its soil isn't used for terrorism. But the Taliban-led government has not been able to live up to the expectations.

The activities of militants have been mainly focused in Balochistan and KP, with the former accounting for 31% of the attacks during the last year and the latter 67%, according to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Two gunned down in North Waziristan

In a similar operation on Friday, two terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an exchange fire in the general area Esham of North Waziristan, the ISPR had said.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists. It added that the militants were actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces. “The incident re-vindicates Pakistan Army’s resolve to have zero tolerance for terrorism in Pakistan and reaffirms its determination to take on all entities that resort to violence,” said the ISPR.

Last week, in the same district, a terrorist was gunned down during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan.

The operation was conducted in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area, according to ISPR. When the security forces approached the terrorists, they retaliated.

In response, an intense fire exchange took place between the troops and terrorists. After killing the armed assailants, the forces also recovered weapons and ammunition.

"The killed terrorists remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and [the] killing of innocent citizens," the military's media wing added.