SPINWAM: Security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan on Thursday, killing four terrorists, including a key militant commander, according to security sources.
Sources identified the slain commander as Umar, also known as Jan Mir and Tor Saqib. He was reportedly a highly wanted militant with a Rs3 million bounty on his head and was believed to be involved in planning and orchestrating attacks against both security personnel and civilians.
Officials said the militant had set up underground bunkers, tunnels, and explosive traps in the vicinity of the Bobali Mosque area in Spinwam, turning the locality into a fortified hideout for terrorist activity.
The latest operation comes just two days after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that security forces had killed 22 India-backed terrorists during an ongoing sanitisation operation in the Shewa area of North Waziristan.
According to the military’s media wing, the operation was launched on May 17 after credible intelligence reports indicated the presence of India-sponsored militants in the area. During the past 24 hours of the operation, troops engaged the militants in heavy gunfire, resulting in the killing of all 22 terrorists.
Security officials said a cache of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the dead militants, who had allegedly been involved in several terrorist attacks in the region.
Evidence collected from the site also suggested that the militants had been intimidating local residents and using civilians as human shields to avoid detection and retaliation.
The Pakistan Army reiterated that counterterrorism efforts under the national campaign “Azm-e-Istehkam” would continue with full force to eliminate foreign-sponsored militancy from the country.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Afghan interim government to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for attacks against Pakistan. Pakistani officials have also accused militant groups of operating freely from across the border.
Despite several rounds of diplomatic engagement and discussions on security cooperation, both sides have made limited progress in curbing cross-border militancy.