Five terrorists, including their ring leader, were shot dead in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dera Ismail Khan district, the military’s media wing said on Friday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted the operation on the reported presence of terrorists in the general area Maddi of Dera Ismail Khan. "During the conduct of the operation, our troops effectively engaged khwarij’s [terrorists] location, resultantly, five khwarij including ring leader Shafiullah aka Shafi, were sent to hell," the ISPR said. Furthermore, it said, the security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the killed terrorists, who "remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces as well as target killing of innocent civilians". "Sanitisation operation is being carried out to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area, as security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” it concluded. A day earlier, the security forces rescued eight of 17 civilian workers who were abducted at gunpoint by banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Lakki Marwat district. Sources told that the militants ambushed a vehicle transporting unarmed civilians, took them hostage, set it on fire, and fled with the captives. The nation has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest for Pakistan’s civil and military security forces in a decade with at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks, according to “CRSS Annual Security Report 2024” issued by Centre for Security and Strategic Studies. Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e., 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63% of the total recorded this year, marking 73% more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated, The News reported citing CRSS report. The overall fatalities recorded the previous year were a record 9-year high and over 66% more than in 2023. On average, nearly seven people lost their lives daily, with November emerging as the deadliest month across all metrics, compared to all other months of the year. The violence took the heaviest toll on KP which topped in human losses with 1,616 fatalities, followed by Balochistan with 782 fatalities. In 2024, the country suffered 2,546 violence-linked fatalities and 2,267 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws. This tally of casualties stemmed from 1,166 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, marking a grim year for the country’s security landscape.