Two Pak soldiers, wanted terrorist killed in encounter in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Peshawar: Two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed on Saturday during an intelligence-based operation in which a wanted terrorist was gunned down in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said.

The security forces conducted the operation in the Buner district of the province on the reported presence of terrorists which resulted in the elimination of terrorist and ring leader Saleem alias "Rabbani" while two other militants sustained injuries in the gun battle.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, Rabbani, who had an Rs 5 million bounty on his head, was involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as extortion and target killings of innocent civilians.

Two other terrorists were also injured in the encounter.

Two Pakistan Army soldiers were also killed in the operation.

Security forces of Pakistan remain determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism, the army statement said.

Pakistan has witnessed a significant surge in terrorist incidents in recent months with KP and Balochistan accounting for over 92 per cent of all fatalities and 86 per cent of attacks — including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations — during the first quarter of 2024.