Peshawar, Feb 6, 2026 — Pakistani security forces say they killed 24 militants in two intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on 4-5 February. The military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), reported the deaths in a Friday statement.
According to the ISPR, 14 militants were killed during an engagement in Orakzai district and 10 were killed in a separate operation in Khyber district. The statement described the suspects as members of “Fitna-al-Khawarij,” a label used by the state for fighters affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Following the engagements, security forces carried out sanitisation operations in the areas to remove any remaining militants.
The ISPR said the operations were part of the counter-terrorism drive conducted under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam and the National Action Plan, as approved by the Federal Apex Committee. It added that security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue operations to eliminate what it called foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism.
Earlier in January, authorities said 11 militants were killed in two IBOs in the province. Pakistan has experienced a rise in militant violence since the TTP ended a ceasefire with the government in November 2022. A 2025 report by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies found terrorist attacks rose 34% and terrorism-related fatalities increased 21% year-on-year.
