PESHAWAR / SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Seven terrorists, including a key militant commander, were killed in separate encounters with police and security forces in Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa, officials said.

Security forces killed five terrorists in the first en­c­ounter that took place in the Razmak area of North Waziristan, read a sta­tement issued by the mil­itary’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Rela­tions (ISPR), on Monday.

The exchange of fire took place during an intelligence-based operation carried out on the basis of reports about their presence in the area, the ISPR stated, adding that the forces effectively engaged their locations and killed five of them.

In South Waziristan, mea­nwhile, terrorists’ rin­g­leader Zabiullah alias Zakran was killed during another intelligence-based operation, the ISPR stated.

Zabiullah was wanted by law enforcement agencies for his involvement in several terrorist activities against security forces and in the targeted killing of innocent civilians, it said.

Sources said there was a growing concern among re­s­idents of Upper South Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan, North Wazir­istan, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat and Bannu over the security situation in recent years.

Attack on polio team foiled

In Lower South Waziris­tan, a terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire with police when the former att­a­cked Azam Warsak police personnel, including the station house offi­cer, providing security to polio vaccinators in the Kalosha area of Tehsil Birmal.

SHO Alamgir Mehsud and his team came under attack while they were providing security for the polio vaccination campaign that kicked off on Monday. A bystander, identified as Raza Muhammad, was injured and shifted to Wana hospital for treatment.

District Police Officer Asif Bahadur said a heavy exchange of gunfire took place between the police and attackers. It continued for around half an hour, he said.

When the guns fell silent, one terrorist, who was later identified as Afnan, was already dead, while police seized an SMG, a rocket launcher, and two motorcycles abandoned by the terrorists at the scene.

Sources said a search of the deceased led to the recovery of two CNICs, three ATM cards, and a smartphone. It emerged during investigation that one set of the identification documents belonged to the slain militant, while the remaining items were traced back to police constable Imran, who was martyred in a terrorist attack near Tora Golla/Zalai in Ramazan.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2025