12 terrorists killed in restive Khyber Pakhunkhwa province of Pakistan

Peshawar: At least 12 terrorists and six soldiers have been killed in two fierce encounters that took place in the restive northwestern Khyber Pakhunkhwa province of Pakistan, the ISPR said on Friday.

The encounters occurred in North and South Waziristan districts, resulting in the killing of 12 khariji on Thursday and Friday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, said.

Pakistan has officially declared the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ and the notification by the Interior Ministry emphasises the use of the term ‘khariji’ (outlawed) along with the names of such terrorists.

On September 19, movement of a group of seven terrorists, trying to infiltrate Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was detected by security forces in Spinwam, North Waziristan district.

The infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense exchange of fire, all seven khariji were killed and a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered from their possession.

In the second incident in Ladha, South Waziristan district, a group of kharij attacked a security forces’ post. The soldiers foiled the attempts of intrusion and killed all five khariji, the ISPR statement added.

However, six soldiers were also killed during the exchange of fire, it said, adding, sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other khariji present in the area.