A high-value target was among nine militants killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

“On the night of Oct 23/24, the security forces conducted an IBO on the reported presence of khawarij where “[own] troops effectively engaged the khawarij location”, the ISPR said in a statement.

“After [an] intense fire exchange, nine khawarij including two suicide bombers and a high-value target khariji ring leader Said Muhammad alias Qureshi Ustad were sent to hell,” it added.

The statement further said a “large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered from killed khawarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as innocent civilians”.

A sanitisation operation was being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists in the area, the military’s media affairs wing said.

It added: “[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.”