Seven terrorists were killed and six critically injured by security forces in an exchange of fire in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district of Pakistan, according to the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) highlighted that the skirmish took place on Saturday in the district’s general area of Ursoon when “troops effectively engaged terrorists’ location.”
It added that the area was being sanitized to clear it of any terrorists in the vicinity.
“Locals of the area appreciated the operation by the security forces and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said.
The operation had come in the wake of Wednesday’s terrorist attack on two military posts in the Lower Chitral district.
At least four security men had embraced martyrdom while more than 16 fighters were killed as militants’ attempts to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan were foiled by troops deployed along the border with Afghanistan.
The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack through its spokesperson, Mohammad Khorasani.
In recent times, Pakistan has seen a rise in terrorist activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan regions, after the TTP terminated its truce with the government the previous November.
On August 22, six military personnel were killed during a firefight in South Waziristan, with four terrorists also losing their lives.
Last July, 12 army members lost their lives in separate encounters in Balochistan’s Zhob and Sui regions. This accounted for the highest number of military casualties in a single day due to terrorist incidents for the year.
A July report from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies highlighted a concerning increase in terrorist and suicide assaults during the first half of the year, resulting in the deaths of 389 individuals nationwide.
