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Pakistan Security Forces Kill 27 Militants in North Waziristan Operations

ISLAMABAD— Pakistan's military said on Sunday that security forces killed 27 militants during a series of intelligence-based operations conducted over the past 72 hours in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan district, a region bordering Afghanistan that has long been affected by militancy.

According to a statement issued by the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces engaged multiple militant hideouts in the area, triggering what it described as intense and fierce exchanges of fire.

The military identified the slain militants as members of "Fitna-al-Khwarij," a term used by Pakistani authorities for outlawed militant groups. ISPR alleged that the militants were backed by India.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered during the operations, the statement said. The military added that the militants had been involved in numerous terrorist activities and targeted killings of civilians.

ISPR said the operation also avenged the killing of prominent local figure Malik Saifullah Dawar, who was recently killed in Miran Shah. It stated that those responsible for the attack had been brought to justice through the latest operations.

Security forces have launched follow-up sanitisation operations in the area to locate and eliminate any remaining militants, according to the statement.

Pakistan has witnessed a rise in militant attacks in recent years, particularly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and neighbouring Balochistan. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated groups have frequently been blamed for attacks targeting security personnel and civilians. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban administration of allowing militants to operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, allegations that Kabul denies.

The military said its counterterrorism campaign under the national "Azm-e-Istehkam" strategy would continue at full pace, vowing to eliminate what it described as foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.