Pakistan’s security forces said 11 people were killed in separate counterterrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Two militants were killed in an operation in the Bannu area, while five were killed in Ladha, South Waziristan. Security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition during the operations.

In Balochistan, four more militants were killed during an operation in the Sasul area of Khuzdar district that used a quadcopter. Authorities claimed those killed were members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and Balochistan-based armed groups.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces for the operations. Zardari said security forces’ activities to eliminate terrorism would continue. Earlier, on August 21, the military’s media wing had reported that 49 militants were killed in separate operations.