Eight militants killed in Darra Adamkhel operation

Eight militants were killed on the second day of an operation in Darra Adamkhel, security sources said, raising the total to 13. The area has been cordoned off and the operation is continuing.

PESHAWAR: Eight militants were killed on Saturday during the second day of an ongoing security operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Darra Adamkhel area, according to security sources, taking the overall death toll in the operation to 13.

The sources said five militants had already been killed on Friday when the operation began. They said the action was launched after reports about the presence of a group of militants in the area, and added that security forces had sealed off the locality while the offensive continued.

According to the sources, those killed included Daud from Zorh Kalay as well as Hamza, Qari Zeenatullah and Qari Lawangin. They said Zeenatullah and Lawangin were Afghan nationals and belonged to the banned Tariq Gidar group, which is affiliated with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The identities of the remaining dead militants were still being determined.

The sources said the area remained under cordon and the operation was still under way. They added that the action would continue until all militants in the area were eliminated.

Militant presence in the area

The Tariq Gidar group is named after militant commander Tariq Afridi from Darra Adamkhel and has been active in the area in the past. The group has been involved in militant activity in the region. Afridi was killed in 2012, reportedly by his relatives in Khyber.

Darra Adamkhel lies south of Peshawar and borders the Kohat and Peshawar districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The area has seen multiple attacks on security personnel and convoys over the years, as well as military operations.

Recent security operations

The report comes amid a broader rise in militant violence in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Taliban administration to act against militant sanctuaries on Afghan soil, especially those linked to the banned TTP. Pakistani officials say those requests have not been acted upon.

Earlier this month, security forces killed five terrorists in two separate engagements in KP’s Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts. In early April, eight terrorists were killed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan.