Islamabad, Feb 10 (IANS): Seven militants were killed when the Pakistani Army conducted two operations in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement on Sunday.

The operations were launched Saturday night and Sunday morning on tip-offs, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani Army said in the statement.

In the operation in Dera Ismail Khan, three militants, including a key operative, were killed, and two others were wounded, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the separate operation in the North Waziristan district, security forces killed four more militants during an exchange of fire, with three others sustaining injuries, the ISPR said.

The statement added that the security forces are conducting further search and clearance operations in the areas to eliminate any remaining militants.

Pakistani security forces killed 12 terrorists in a counter-terrorism operation on Wednesday night in the North Waziristan tribal district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said the military on Thursday evening (February 7).

The ISPR said that the security forces conducted an operation in the Hassan Khel area of the district on the intelligence information about the presence of the terrorists.

The intense fire exchange led to the killing of the 12 terrorists who were involved in multiple attacks on security personnel and civilians.

A security personnel was also killed during the fire exchange, the ISPR added.

Security forces recovered a cache of weapons and ammunition from the militants' hideout.

A follow-up operation is currently underway to ensure the area is cleared of any remaining threats, said the ISPR, reaffirming Pakistan's unwavering commitment to eradicating terrorism and maintaining national security.

Pakistan has witnessed a major surge in terror attacks targetting security forces and foreign nationals, mainly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

2024 was one of the deadliest years for the country with at least 685 security personnel killed in 444 terror attacks.

As per statistics compiled by the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies (CRSS), there were at least 1,612 casualties of civilians and security personnel combined in 2024 while 934 outlaws were eliminated.

The combined casualties during 2024 have been the highest in the past decade, averaging seven people losing their lives every day.

KP and Balochistan were the worst hit by terror attacks last year with at least 1,601 casualties in KP and at 782 in Balochistan in 1,166 terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations.

The series of major terror attacks continue in 2025, posing a serious challenge to the Pakistani security forces and its ongoing operations.