An army officer and three soldiers were martyred in an operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district on Saturday, the military media wing.

The martyred army men were identified as Lieutenant Muhammad Hassaan Arshaf, 21, a Lahore resident; Naib Subedar Muhammad Bilal, 39, a Dera Ismail Khan resident; Sepoy Farhat Ullah, 27, a Lakki Marwat resident; and Sepoy Himat Khan, 29, a Mohmand resident, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.

At least six terrorists were killed in the operation.

Another security operation was conducted in the general area of Hathala, Dera Ismail Khan, on the reported presence of Khwarij.

“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the Khwarij location and resultantly, nine Khwarij including Kharji ring leaders HVT Farman alias Saqib, Kharji Amanullah alias Toori, Kharji Saeed alias Liaqat and Kharji Bilal were killed,” it said.

“The killed Khwarij were involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area and were highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies,” the ISPR said.

“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” it said.

Pakistan has been battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.

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Last year saw casualties hit a six-year high, with more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants killed, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.

Last month, the security forces killed five terrorists belonging to the banned Fitna Al Khawarij on the night of January 18-19 who were trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the general area of Sambaza, Zhob district.

In January, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir stated that the main issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan stem from the presence of the banned militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in Afghanistan and ongoing cross-border attacks.