At least two personnel of security forces including a captain and five alleged terrorists were killed during an encounter in Malikabad village of District Swabi on Tuesday night.
“The five terrorists who were killed were planning to target educational institutions and judicial complexes,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The military’s media wing said three of the terrorists had been identified, while the remaining two were “probably Afghans”. At least one of the identified militants was a member of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, according to ISPR.
Two soldiers of the army also lost their lives in the operation.
“Sacrifice of our shaheeds will not go waste. Terrorist[s] will be brought to their end and held accountable for their fasaad,” Chief of Army Staff Qamar Jawed Bajwa said in response to the operation.
The two soldiers were among an Army party conducting an intelligence-based operation in Swabi district’s Malikabad area, according to ISPR.
A day earlier, five soldiers of Pakistan Army had been slain in a “terrorist attack” on three Pakistani border posts along the Pak-Afghan border area in Mohmand Agency. Over 15 suspected militants were also reportedly killed during the attack.
The Army had launched Operation Raddul Fasaad last month following a spate of terror attacks in the country, which claimed more than a hundred lives and left hundreds others injured.
The operation seeks to eliminate the “residual/latent threat of terrorism”, consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistan’s borders.
Hundreds of suspected terrorists have reportedly either been killed or arrested in raids carried out by security personnel since the start of the operation.
