Two terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, security forces conducted the operation in Mir Ali area of the district when they were informed of the presence of terrorists therein.

“On 09 October 2024, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Mir Ali in North Waziristan District, on [the] reported presence of Khawarij,” the ISPR said in the statement.

It added an intense firefight took place between security forces and “khawarij”, with two terrorists being killed.

“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from killed Khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as target killing of innocent civilians in the area,” the statement added.

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.

The media wing added that a sanitisation operation is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists in the area.

“[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the military’s media wing announced that it had neutralised two terrorists while repelling a suicide attack on the Joint Response Centre in Zhob, Balochistan.

“The attempt to enter the camp was effectively thwarted by the security forces personnel, and resultantly two terrorists, including a suicide bomber and HVT Terrorist Umar @ Umari, were sent to hell before they could cause the intended damage,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement read.

Havaldar Jam Sher was martyred in the attack, the ISPR said.

According to a monthly security report published by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), a total of 45 terrorist attacks took place across the country in September 2024, reflecting about a 24 per cent decline from the month before.

These attacks resulted in 54 fatalities (29 security personnel, 16 civilians, and nine militants), compared to 84 last month, and injuries to another 117 people.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suffered the most as 27 terrorist incidents occurred across the province, followed by 17 in Balochistan and one in Punjab.

The report said that 27 terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed the lives of 35 people and wounded 70 others.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pak­istan (TTP), Gul Bahadur Group, Islamic State-Khor­asan and a few local Taliban groups were involved in these attacks.

No terrorist attack was recorded in any part of Sindh in September 2024. However, one reported attack in Punjab injured one policeman.

A total of five attacks were recorded from across Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.