PESHAWAR / NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Security forces have killed 54 terrorists in what is being billed as the single-biggest blow inflicted on the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates when a group of assailants was spotted and neutralised while trying to infiltrate through the Pak-Afghan border in North Waziristan district.

A statement issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that it was the highest number of terrorists killed by the se curity forces in a single engagement during the entire campaign against militancy.

According to the statement, on the nights between April 25-26 and April 26-27, security forces spotted the movement of a large group in the Hassan Khel area of the district on the PakAfghan border.

It said that troops engaged the group and gunned down 54 terrorists in an exchange of fire, adding that the forces also recovered a large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives from the killed militants.

ISPR said that intelligence reports indicated that the group of 54 militants was specifically infiltrating at the behest of their `foreign masters` to undertake high-profile terrorist activities inside Pakistan.

The statement said that such actions by the militants, at a time when India was levelling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implied whose cues they were following. Such actions amount to treason and betrayal againstthe state and its citizens, ISPR said.

The military`s media wing said that the National Security Council had also underscored the fact that distracting Pakistan`s security forces from their focus on the war against terrorism seemed to be the strategic intent of India to allow a breathing space to militants reeling from the onslaught of the Pakistan military`s resolute offensive against them.

`The security forces demonstrated exceptional professionalism, vigilanceandpreparednessandpreventedapotential catastrophe,` the statement read, adding that this was the highest ever number of terrorists killed by the security forces in a single engagement during the entire campaign against militancy.

`Trapped and cornered` Meanwhile, sources said that security forces had prior information about a possible infiltration in Margha area of the district, and an intelligence-based operation (IBO) was planned. They added that the security forces trapped the militants allowed them to cross the border and later cornered them.

Social media accounts affiliated with Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan, a new militant conglomerate, acknowledged the casualties. The terror network formed earlier this month includes Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group from North Waziristan, Lashkar-i-Islam from Khyber tribal district, and a new group called Inqilab-i-Islami Pakistan.

APP adds: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday lauded the security forces for foiling the intrusion from Afghanistan in North Waziristan. In a statement, he said the brave security forces of Pakistan were always ready to safeguard the borders of the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also lauded the security forces in a statement. He commended the forces for their outstanding professionalism and timely response, which thwarted the terrorists` plans.`The security forces have once again demonstrated excellent professional skills by intercepting the terrorists in a timely manner,` he said.

Three killed in Bajaur Security forces also killed three militants, including son of a former deputy chief of the banned TTP, and foiled a cross-border infiltration attempt in Bajaur district from Afghanistan`s Kunar province.

Sources said that the incident occurred near the Ghakhi pass in Mamund tehsil on Sunday morning, adding that the troops swiftly responded and launched an operation against the militants shortly after they crossed into Pakistan.

Sources claimed that Fareed, son of banned TTP`s former deputy chief Maulana Faqir Muhammad, was among the killed militants. The other two militants were identified as Zaheer and Zubir, reportedly Fareed`s guards.

There was no official statement on the operation.

Khyber hideouts targeted In Khyber, gunship helicopters bombed militant hideouts in two separate localities of the Tirah valley. The operation had been going on since Saturday evening.

Residents in Peer Mela and Bhutan localities of the valley told Dawn that militants` positions in the hilly areas of Arhanga near Peer Mela, bordering Orakzai and Bhutan Shareef, were targeted.

They said that air strikes started on Saturday evening and continued till Sunday morning, which also caused a fire in the dense forest in both localities.

`The bombing by the helicopters was so intense that we spent a sleepless night due to the loud sounds, with most of the residents taking shelter in comparatively safe places near their houses,` a concerned resident said.

He said that security forces also ordered them to chop down their forests to deny militants the hideouts in these forests, who were constantly targeting security forces.

Local security officials had warned them that bombing and artillery shelling would damage their trees if they did not cut down the forest where militants had been hiding.

Residents, however, lamented that the terror groups also warned them of dire consequences if they felled trees.

`We are caught in a very complex and threatening situation as both the security forces and militants want us to obey their orders; along with our precious lives, the decades-old forest is also in danger of extinction,` they rued.

The residents in Peer Mela said that two women were injured in the shelling, who had been moved to Peshawar for treatment, but the local population generally remained safe because the operation had targeted militants in a hilly terrain with no population.

Meanwhile, in Jamrud, gunship helicopters on Saturday morning targeted militant hideouts in the hilly locality of Maidanak, overlooking Ghundi village.

The intense strikes on militants` hideouts both in Tirah and Jamrud came in the wake of a stern resolve against militant groups announced by Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Omer Ahmed Bokhari during a jirga held in Bara on April 21.

Anwarullah in Bajaur and Ibrahim Shinwari in Khyber also contributed to this report