Security forces killed four terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO on Tuesday night in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan “on the reported presence of khwarij”.

“During [the] conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location, and after an intense exchange of fire, four khwarij were sent to hell,” the statement said.

Security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the terrorists who were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as target killing of innocent civilians”.

Sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists, the ISPR said adding, “[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”

In July, the government, through an official notification, designated the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.

On Tuesday, the ISPR reported eight terrorists were killed during two separate operations in KP.

Pakistan has recently witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan.

Terror attacks have increased since the TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022.

With at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for the civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade, according to a 2024 report issued by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) think-tank.

According to DG ISPR, security forces conducted a total of 59,775 operations last year during which 925 terrorists were killed and 383 officers and soldiers were martyred.