PESHAWAR (Oct 8) — At least 11 Pakistani soldiers, including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, were killed during intense clashes with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said on Wednesday.
According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — the media wing of Pakistan’s military — the deadly encounter took place during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Orakzai district on Tuesday night.
The ISPR said that 19 militants belonging to the group now referred to as “Fitna al-Khawarij” were also killed in the operation. The term, used by the Pakistani government since last year, draws from Islamic history to describe violent extremist factions.
The military statement noted that a “sanitisation operation” was ongoing in the area to track down any remaining militants. “Security forces remain determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country, no matter the cost,” the ISPR said.
The TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban, has intensified its attacks in northwestern Pakistan since the collapse of a fragile ceasefire in late 2022. The insurgent group routinely targets security installations and convoys in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
Tuesday’s deadly exchange underscores the rising toll on Pakistan’s armed forces as they face a resurgence of militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.