ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed eight India-backed terrorists during an intelligence-based operation conducted in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, security sources said on Sunday.

The operation was conducted after intelligence reports indicated the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists in the area, security sources said.

According to security sources, three key commanders of Fitna al-Khawarij were also among the eight terrorists killed during the operation.

A large cache of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the killed terrorists, along with foreign currency, the sources said.

The IBO comes a day after security forces killed 11 militants in separate operations in KP and Balochistan.

The operations were carried out in KP’s South Waziristan and the Gorindar-Mashkel area in Balochistan under ongoing operations against militants, security sources had said.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Pakistan recorded its highest monthly number of militant attacks in 12 years during September 2026.

According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based independent think tank monitoring anti-state violence in the region, 225 militant attacks were recorded across the country in September, compared with 199 in August — an increase of 13%. Militant attacks increased for the third consecutive month.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant organisations to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban authorities have failed to take effective action against groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, a position Kabul has disputed.

Despite multiple rounds of talks, Islamabad and Kabul have yet to resolve their differences, with the issue of militant groups operating from Afghan soil remaining a major point of contention between the two sides.