16 terrorists killed, two soldiers martyred in K-P operations: ISPR

"Fitna al-Khawarijis the term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It identified the two soldiers who embraced martyrdom during the engagements as Havildar Asmat Ali, 43, a resident of Swabi district, and Naik Aftab Ali, 32, from Mardan district.

“Both fought gallantly” before making the ultimate sacrifice, the ISPR said. Read:K-P terror threat persists: advisor. The statement further said that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists belonging to the Indian-sponsored.

Fitna al-Khawarij. It said they had been involved in several terrorist activities, including the killing of civilians.

Sanitisation operations would continue to eliminate remaining holed-upkhawarijfrom these areas, as relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under the vision “Azm-e-Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices further strengthen our resolve, the statement concluded.

A day earlier, security forceskilled 74 terroristsduring IBOs in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, 35 terrorists belonging to the. Fitna al-Khawarijwere killed in Mir Ali and eight terrorists were killed in Orakzai.

Terrorism is a growing problem for Pakistan, with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organisation. Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022.

The scale of the threat continued to grow in 2026. Two security reports presented to the federal cabinet in October showed that terrorist incidents in K-P had increased by195%between March 2024 and September 2026. Read More:Lack of political ownership weakened counterterrorism efforts, says K-P governor.

The reports also found that 73% of attacks recorded in the province during 2026 had targeted police and security personnel, while the use of drones and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had emerged as growing threats. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

AUnited Nations Security Council monitoring reportpublished in February 2026 supported Islamabad's concerns, saying TTP attacks originating from Afghanistan had increased and that the group was being afforded greater liberty and support by Afghanistan's de facto authorities.