Security forces killed 21 more militants during intelligence-based operations in and around Miran Shah in North Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, the latest operations were carried out over the past 72 hours as part of an ongoing counterterrorism campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ISPR said the operations targeted multiple militant locations in the Miran Shah area.

The military said the slain militants belonged to what the state refers to as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a term officially used for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliates. Dawn also reported that the government uses the term for the banned TTP and linked groups.

ISPR said four militant commanders were among those killed, identifying them as Khalid Raza alias Salar, Muftoon, Musa and Imran alias Ayan. The military said the four were wanted for alleged involvement in terrorist attacks, including killings of security personnel and civilians.

The latest deaths bring the total number of militants killed in the ongoing North Waziristan operations to 48, according to ISPR. Earlier reports said 27 militants had been killed in a previous phase of the same series of operations in the Miran Shah area.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, the military said.

ISPR said sanitisation operations would continue in the area to clear any remaining militants. The military said the operations are part of the counterterrorism campaign under “Azm-e-Istehkam,” approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces following the operation, according to official statements reported by local media.

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