Pakistani security forces killed five militants during an intelligence-based operation on Saturday in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.The militants reportedly belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which the government calls Fitna al-Khawarij.The operation was carried out in KPK’s South Waziristan district, based on intelligence about several militant hideouts, PTI reported, citing an official.A large quantity of weapons and ammunition was also recovered, the official said.Pak army has been targeting such hideouts amid increased violence at the Afghanistan border.On Friday, seven militants belonging to the same group were killed in North Waziristan district. Such operations form part of Pakistan’s Azm-e-Istehkam initiative, aimed at countering terrorism.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has long struggled with instability, fueled by militant violence, the movement of fighters across the border from Afghanistan, and repeated military campaigns.After its ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani government collapsed in November 2022, the TTP has launched a series of attacks in the province, which borders Afghanistan.Last week, a suicide bombing at a roadside police checkpoint in KPK’s Dera Ismail Khan district killed more than a dozen security personnel and wounded at least 30 others. Nearly 21 people died in the city of Kohat after a car loaded with explosives rammed into the entrance of a mosque; both attacks were linked to the TTP.According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, KPK was Pakistan’s worst-hit region for violence in the third quarter of 2025. The region recorded around 638 violence-related deaths, nearly 71 per cent of the national total. KPK also faced 221 violent incidents, more than 67 per cent of the total.Overall, Pakistan recorded 1,232 rebel group attacks during the first nine months of 2026, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, with the number of attacks in September reaching a 12-year high.
