Pakistan security forces killed 22 terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in an intelligence-based operation in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said on Tuesday.

Security forces conducted the operation on Monday in Bannu district bordering north Waziristan. “During the operation, the troops effectively engaged the ‘khawarij’ location and after an intense fire exchange, 22 khawarij were killed,” the army said. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the TTP. It added that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area.