Security forces in Pakistan killed 24 terrorists during two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday. The operations took place on February 4-5 in the Orakzai and Khyber districts. Fourteen terrorists were killed in Orakzai, while 10 were killed in Khyber. The military called the terrorists "khwarij"—a term used for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it calls Indian proxies. "On reported presence of khwarij, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by the Security Forces in Orakzai District. During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and after an intense fire exchange, fourteen khwarij were sent to hell," the ISPR statement said. It added, "Ten more khwarij were effectively neutralised" in Khyber. Following the engagements, security forces carried out sanitization operations to eliminate any remaining militants in the area. The military emphasized that these counter-terrorism efforts continue under the vision of "Azm e Istehkam" approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, aiming to end foreign-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan. Earlier in January, security forces killed 11 terrorists in two other intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Since the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, militant attacks have surged sharply. A report by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies shows a 34 percent rise in terrorist attacks and a 21 percent increase in terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025 compared to the previous year.