Twenty-two India-sponsored terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.

A statement by the ISPR said that security forces conducted the IBO on Monday, based on the reported presence of khawarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, 22 khawarij were sent to hell,” the statement said.

It added that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area.

The ISPR also said that the counter-terrorism campaign by security forces and law enforcement agencies would continue with full pace to “wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for the successful operation, saying that they were achieving “major successes” against terrorism under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam.

“The entire nation stands with Pakistan’s armed forces in the war against terrorism,” the PM said. “We are determined to completely eradicate all kinds of terrorism from the country.”

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

The latest in the string of terror incidents is a suicide attack on the Federal Constabulary’s (FC) headquarters in Peshawar yesterday morning, in which three FC men were martyred and 12 injured.

The attack, which began after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the FC headquarters, was swiftly repulsed as personnel engaged and shot his two accomplices dead before they could enter the installation to inflict any major damage.

The three attackers ostensibly planned to target the FC’s weekly assembly near the main gate on Sonehri Masjid Road, where around 400 personnel had gathered.

According to the state-run APP, initial investigations revealed that all three terrorists involved in the attack were Afghan nationals.