Karachi city, Pakistan
Pakistan’s army and counter-terrorism police carried out a joint operation in the country’s northwestern province on Wednesday, killing three militants, the army said.
The clashes, which took place during an intelligence operation on the outskirts of Peshawar, capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killed two Pakistani army personnel, including a captain, and several officers from the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
The latest terrorist casualties bring the total number of people killed in terror-related incidents in July to 33, including 14 security personnel, nine militants and eight civilians.
The latest skirmishes came a day after five army soldiers, including a captain, were killed in the volatile tribal areas of North Waziristan and South Waziristan, which border Afghanistan.
“During the operation, after an intense firefight, three terrorists, including HVT (High Value Target) terrorist commander Abdul Raheem, were sent to hell,” the army statement said.
It added that the slain commander was allegedly involved in “numerous” terrorist acts, including the killing of two military personnel in May.
Since Prime Minister Sharif last month approved and announced a “revitalized” National Counter-Terrorism Campaign (Azm-e-Istekam, or Resolve to Sustain) to “eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country”, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks in the border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
At least 60 people were killed in 69 terrorist attacks last month, including 33 security personnel and 26 civilians, according to a new report by the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank.
According to PICSS records, there were 478 militant attacks in Pakistan between January and June, killing 474 people and wounding 539.
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