At least 12 terrorists of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were gunned down Tuesday night in a “very successful intelligence-based operation” (IBO) carried out by the security forces in the Lakki Marwat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed the military’s media wing on Wednesday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said that the movement and activities of the terrorists were being monitored by the “intelligence tentacles” for the last one week.
“Terrorists were lured in by providing a vehicle for escape that was intercepted and neutralised,” said the ISPR and added, that weapons, ammunition and Afghan currency were also recovered from the terrorists.
Later, a clearance operation was carried out in the area.
The ISPR statement came hours after the police shared the news of the same operation.
While giving details, the police said the terrorists were headed to Tank to carry out an attack. The law enforcement agency had shared that they martyred six policemen in a December 2022 attack.
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.
