RAWALPINDI(National Times)- Two officers and four others were martyred while eight terrorists were killed in a fire exchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district on Sunday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

During an intense fire exchange between a “security forces convoy and Khwarij”, 23-year-old Captain Abuzar Farooq from Gujranwala and 22-year-old Lieutenant Sheraz Babar of Chakwal, “who were leading their troops from the front, fought gallantly and paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom along with their four men”.

According to images released by ISPR, the other four men comprised three sepoys and a “non-combatant”.

On the other hand, “eight Khwarij belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell due to effective engagement by own troops”, the ISPR statement added.

The state uses the term Fitna al Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, ISPR said.

It affirmed that the “relentless counterterrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i- Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.

“These sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” the military’s media wing stated.

Sunday’s development comes two days after a two-pronged assault near a mosque in the old Police Lines of KP’s Kohat district claimed 23 lives, including those of 17 policemen. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation launched to clear the area.

KP witnessed an increase in terrorist attacks in August compared with July, according to monthly data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

On August 7, a captain was martyred while seven terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Hangu.

On July 30, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) was among nine cops martyred and 28 others were injured after terrorists attacked the Khazina Banda checkpost in Hangu. Days later, security forces were reported to have killed the mastermind behind the attack.