At least 11 military personnel, including a Lt Colonel and a Major, were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Pakistan`s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, news agency PTI reported, quoting the army.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, on Wednesday said that 19 terrorists of the ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ were also killed during the operation in Orakzai district on Tuesday night.
Last year, the Pakistan Government had notified the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’, a reference to a group from early Islamic history involved in violence.
The ISPR said the intelligence-based operation was launched after reports of terrorists from ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ in the area on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, PTI reported. During an “intense” exchange of fire, 19 terrorists “were sent to hell”, the statement added.
In its statement, ISPR also informed that a 39-year-old Lt Col, Junaid Tariq, and his second-in-command, 33-year-old Major Tayyab Rahat, were killed along with nine other Pakistani soldiers.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed grief over the soldiers’ deaths.
“We will not allow elements that harm Pakistan`s integrity to succeed,” he said, in response.
President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the soldiers and expressed his heartfelt sympathy with the families of the personnel.
“The entire nation stands as a lead wall with its armed forces,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also expressed condolences and sympathy for the bereaved families.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the banned TTP called off its ceasefire with the government in November 2022 and vowed to target security forces, police, and law enforcement agencies.
According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit region in the third quarter of 2025, accounting for nearly 71 per cent (638) of total violence-linked fatalities and over 67 per cent (221) of incidents of violence, PTI reported.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both sharing a porous border with Afghanistan, bore the brunt of terrorism incidents, making up more than 96 per cent of the total violence across Pakistan.
(With PTI inputs)