ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern Waziristan district on Saturday, killing four militants including their commander who was wanted by the local authorities.
The country has experienced a surge in violent attacks in recent months, leading its top political and military leadership to suspect that militants have been using Afghan territory to launch cross-border attacks.
Waziristan, once known as a militant hub, is located adjacent to Afghanistan, sharing a border with the neighboring country.
According to a statement released by the army’s media wing, ISPR, the Pakistani forces launched the operation after receiving information about the presence of militants in the area.
It said the soldiers “effectively engaged the terrorists’ location as a result of which 4 x terrorists were [killed], including a High Value Target (HVT), Terrorist ring leader Ibrahim [alias] Musa, who was highly wanted by the Law Enforcement Agencies.”
The ISPR informed that weapons, ammunition and explosives were found in possession of the dead militants.
“Sanitization of the surrounding areas is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, as the Security Forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the statement added.