A major-ranked officer was martyred during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa‘s Bajaur district, said a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday. The military identified the martyred officer as 36-year-old Major Adeel Zaman from Dera Ismail Khan. During the operation, security forces also killed five terrorists, added ISPR. On December 29, “security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Khar, Bajaur district, on reported presence of Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij ,” it said. Fitna al Khwarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement said, “During the conduct of operation, due to effective engagement by own troops five Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell“. “However, during the intense fire exchange, Major Adeel Zaman (age: 36 years, resident of Dera Ismail Khan District), a brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, having fought gallantly, rendered the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat.” The statement further said that security forces recovered weapons and ammunition from the terrorists, who remained “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and law enforcement agencies as well as killing of innocent civilians”. Following the operation, the security forces conducted a sanitisation operation to eliminate other terrorists in the area. “Relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under vision “Azm e Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out [the] menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” said the statement. Last month, at least 22 terrorists were killed and several injured in Bajaur district during a successful counter-insurgency operation carried out by security forces. The IBO in Bajaur’s village of Gadar was termed a “major success” by the security sources in a statement and was carried out “based on highly classified information”. Last year, the federal government, in a meeting comprising top civilian and military leaders, announced a comprehensive, nationwide anti-militant operation codenamed ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ to mitigate a rise in attacks on security forces by militant groups.