In a major counter-terrorism operation, Pakistani security forces eliminated six terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, thwarting a planned large-scale attack and highlighting the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Six terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, police said Sunday.
The joint intelligence-based operation (IBO) was carried out by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and the Kohat district police department after receiving intel regarding the terrorists, said Kohat District Police Officer (DPO) Shahbaz Elahi.
The operation started late on Saturday and continued till early hours on Sunday, Elahi said in a statement, adding, the terrorists were planning to orchestrate a large-scale attack in Lachi tehsil of the district.
Subsequently, a large contingent of CTD personnel and police launched a search and strike operation.
Six terrorists were killed in a heavy exchange of fire after the suspects opened fire on the police team, the statement said.
Arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, Kohat DPO said, adding that a search operation was launched in the area after it was cordoned off.
In another incident, unidentified armed militants attacked the Khutti police checkpoint in the Dera Ismail Khan district of the province late on Saturday night, resulting in heavy exchange of fire that injured a police constable.
In February, a suicide car bombing followed by gunfire targeted a security checkpoint in Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel and a child.
In a separate incident last month, six law enforcement personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were killed in a terrorist attack on a police vehicle in Kohat.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to reel under terrorism. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the province recorded a significant surge in violence as fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025.
The Pakistan government blames the banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for carrying out attacks on civilians and the government infrastructure.
Attacks increased after the TTP broke a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022.