Security forces kill 15 terrorists trying to cross into Pakistan through Afghan border: ISPR

Security forces have killed 15 terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into Pakistan through its border with Afghanistan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the terrorists had tried to cross into Pakistan’s North Waziristan district on the night between August 31 and September 1.

Their movement, however, was detected by security forces, the statement said, adding that the troops “responded professionally and with patience to engage them”.

“As a result of precise and skillful engagement that lasted for 36 hours, 15 khawarij belonging to India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij” were killed, the statement added.

The state uses the term Fitna al Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

During the follow-up sanitisation operation, a significant quantity of weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij, which ISPR said had further “exposed the nefarious designs of Khwarij and their facilitators seeking to disrupt peace and stability in the country”.

It said the incident along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border once again vindicated Pakistan’s persistent stance regarding the abject failure of the Afghan Taliban Regime “to deny the use of Afghan soil to the terrorist organisation, under their patronage, for cross-border terrorism”.

“The Afghan Taliban Regime has consistently failed to ensure effective border management and honor its international obligations,” it added.

“Sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored Kharji found in the area as [the] relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under 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 and supported terrorism from the country,” ISPR stated.

On the night between Aug 31 and Sept 1, five security personnel, including two officers, and a Customs official were martyred during a “coordinated attack in an attempt to breach the Customs House” in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said.

On Monday, the security forces killed 12 terrorists following an attack on a convoy of vehicles from the Reko Diq copper and gold project, in the Chagai area.

On the same day, it was reported that two terrorists had also been killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Washuk district.