Security forces successfully neutralised seven Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) terrorists - referred to as Khawarij militants - including a most-wanted terrorist leader in an operation conducted in the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military;s media said on Friday.

According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation carried out on the night of December 17-18 - targeted the presence of militants based on intelligence reports, according to security sources.

The slain militant leader Ali Rehman - also known as Maulana Taha Swati - was a close associate of Mufti Fazlullah, the notorious leader of Fitnat-ul-Khawarij.

Security sources revealed that Swati had joined the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2010 and was actively involved in orchestrating several terrorist attacks.

During the operation, security forces also rescued two children who had been taken hostage by a foreign militant.

The individual attempted to use the children as human shields but was neutralized by the troops. A vehicle loaded with weapons and ammunition reportedly intended for a major terror plot, was also seized.

In related operations, four more Khawarij militants were killed in separate intelligence-based actions in North Waziristan and Mohmand districts.

Two militants were killed during an exchange of fire in South Waziristan’s Datta Khel area, while another two were neutralized in Mohmand district, with arms and ammunition recovered.

Security sources emphasised that these successful operations significantly affected the Khawarij and their networks.

They further noted the strong nexus between Khawarij militants and the Afghan Taliban, citing the involvement of foreign fighters and evidence repeatedly shared with the Afghan interim government.