Pakistani security forces have killed 24 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing said on Friday.“On 4-5 February, 24 khawarij belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term used by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).Two intelligence-based operations were conducted in the province’s Orakzai and Khyber districts.During the operation conducted in Orakzai district, troops engaged the terrorists and killed 14 terrorists. While in Khyber, during the conduct of another IBO, security forces killed 10 terrorists.Following the engagements, security forces conducted sanitisation operations in the areas “to eliminate any other sponsored khawarij found in the area”.The military’s media wing added that the counter-terrorism operations, conducted under the vision of ‘Azm e Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies, will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.Earlier in January, 11 terrorists were killed in two separate IBOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorism since the TTP ended its ceasefire deal with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase attacks.Despite record militant deaths, Pakistan saw a sharp escalation in militant violence in 2025, with terrorist attacks rising by 34 per cent and terrorism-related fatalities increasing by 21 per cent year on year, according to a report released by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies.