Pakistan forces eliminate 13 India-backed militants in KP operations
Security forces have killed 13 militants described as being backed from across the border during two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a statement from the military’s media wing issued on Wednesday.
The operations were launched in the Bara area of Khyber district and in Bannu after security agencies received reports about the presence of terrorists. Troops moved in under an intelligence-driven campaign aimed at dismantling militant infrastructure and preventing attacks in the region.
In the Bara operation, security personnel engaged the militants after locating their hideout. Following an intense exchange of fire, 10 fighters were shot dead, the statement said, adding that the forces acted on precise intelligence to minimise collateral damage and prevent the suspects from escaping.
A second operation in Bannu district targeted another group believed to be involved in recent terrorist activities. Security forces tracked the location and carried out a swift raid, killing three more militants. No casualties among the troops were reported in the statement.
Authorities said follow-up clearance and sanitisation activities are under way in both areas to ensure no remaining militants or facilitators are left in the vicinity. The operation is part of a broader counterterrorism drive under the vision "Azm-e-Istehkam", which aims to eliminate foreign-sponsored militancy and restore stability, the military’s media wing noted.
Officials linked the latest actions to a wider surge in terrorist incidents that followed the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a marked increase in cross-border attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share a long and porous frontier with Afghanistan.
As part of its ongoing campaign, Pakistan launched "Operation Ghazab lil-Haq", under which hundreds of militants have been killed or injured in recent months and dozens of insurgent positions and posts along the border have been destroyed. Officials say more than 600 fighters associated with the Afghan Taliban and allied groups have been killed and over 900 wounded, while over 200 militants died in earlier border clashes in 2025 that also claimed the lives of dozens of Pakistani soldiers.
Despite several rounds of engagement between Islamabad and the authorities in Kabul, officials acknowledge that differences remain over action against groups using Afghan territory to stage attacks. Security institutions insist that counterterrorism operations will continue at full pace until militant networks and their cross-border support structures are dismantled.