Pakistan Army's Operation Khyber-4, launched under Operaion Raddul Fasaad (RuF) in the Rajgal Valley area of Khyber Agency, is progressing as planned, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Thursday.

According to the ISPR, the operation has been yielding steady results: 13 terrorists have been eliminated so far while six others have been debilitated.

Army troops, including personnel from the Special Services Group, have "cleared 90 square kilometres of area while advancing from multiple directions," an ISPR release said.

The army's bomb defusal teams have also successfully neutralised a number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that terrorists had hidden underground, while "terrorist hideouts have been destroyed in targeted strikes by Pakistan Air Force, Army Aviation and Artillery," the ISPR said.

"During exchange of fire a soldier, Sepoy Abdul Jabbar, laid down his life for the motherland," the ISPR release said.

The army had also informed Afghan forces ahead of the launch of Khyber-4 operation in Rajgal, which the Afghan army would be able to support on their side of the border if they wished.

Terrorism in Pakistan

Incidents of terrorism in Pakistan have shown a drop over the three-year period from 2014-2017, the ISPR had announced earlier.

Trend in civilian casualties. ─ Photo courtesy ISPR

Since the launch of Operation RuF, the army has launched 46 major operations in the country and over 9,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs).

About 1,760 joint checkposts have been established in coordination with police and other law enforcement agencies.