21 terrorists killed in North Waziristan operations over 72 hours, says ISPR

ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 21 terrorists in a series of intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district over the past 72 hours, according to the military’s media wing.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said multiple militant locations were targeted in the Miran Shah area and its surroundings as part of continuing operations in the district. The military said those killed included four ring leaders identified as Khalid Raza alias Salar, Muftoon, Musa and Imran alias Ayan.

The ISPR said the operations involved fierce exchanges of fire and described the dead as belonging to what it called Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khwarij. The military named the four ring leaders as Kharji Khalid Raza alias Salar, Kharji Muftoon, Kharji Musa and Kharji Imran alias Ayan. The government uses the term Fitna al-Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and affiliated groups.

According to the military, the four ring leaders were wanted in connection with a number of militant attacks, including the killing of security personnel and civilians. The ISPR also said weapons and ammunition were recovered from those killed, adding that they had been involved in terrorist activity and targeted killings of civilians.

Recent operations in the area

The latest operations follow another action in the same area last week in which, according to the ISPR as cited by Geo News, 27 militants were killed in Miran Shah. The military said that with the latest action, the number of militants killed in these operations has risen to 48.

The ISPR said clearance operations were continuing in the area to eliminate militants still in hiding. The broader counter-terrorism campaign under Azm-e-Istehkam, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue.

“Sanitisation operations continue to eliminate holed-up khawarij from these areas, as the relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ (as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan) by the security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the military said.

Wider security backdrop

The operations took place amid continuing counter-terrorism efforts, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that Pakistan had carried out precise and calibrated strikes along the Afghanistan border, targeting hideouts and safe havens of planners linked to recent attacks inside the country, and that at least 26 militants were killed in those strikes.

According to the minister, those strikes followed several incidents, including the attack on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, 2026, vehicle-borne suicide attacks on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, 2026, and an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9, 2026.

Geo News further reported that Pakistan has seen an increase in militant activity, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since 2021, when the Afghan Taliban returned to power. Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, in which Afghan Taliban operatives and allied militants were killed and hundreds were injured, while border clashes broke out in October 2025 after what it described as unprovoked attacks on Pakistani border posts. Despite several rounds of talks, the two countries have not reached an agreement, citing the Afghan Taliban administration’s reluctance to act against militant groups.