Islamic State-K commander involved in 2022 Peshawar bombing killed

The Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) region group has suffered a major blow as its senior commander, Muhammad Ehsani, also known as Anwar, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Mazar-i-Sharif city, Afghanistan, Aaj News reported citing security sources on Sunday.

Ehsani, an ethnic Tajik, was responsible for training suicide bombers and facilitating their movement into Pakistan, sources said, adding he was also a key facilitator of the 2022 Peshawar mosque bombing, which claimed 67 lives.

Sources said Ehsani was involved in planning multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, and his death is a significant setback for IS-K operations in the region.

Security forces kill 17 terrorists in KP’s Lakki Marwat: ISPR

Security agencies added that under the ongoing Operation Sarbakaf in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three IS-K militants, including an Afghan national, were killed earlier this month. Crackdowns also continue in Bajaur and other areas against IS-K and banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) facilitators.

Since Taliban leaders returned to Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has seen a rise in cross-border terror attacks, especially in Afghanistan’s neighbouring provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

In August, Pakistan experienced its deadliest month of militant violence in more than a decade, recording 143 attacks that killed 194 people and injured 231, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said earlier this month in its report.

The report said though violence was experienced in Sindh, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan, but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan bore the most brunt.

“Militants not only intensified their frequency of attacks but also diversified tactics, with sharp increases in guerrilla assaults, targeted killings, IED and grenade attacks, and even a single suicide bombing, reflecting renewed momentum by the militant groups,” it said.

In response, the report said, security forces stepped up counterterrorism operations, conducting 41 actions nationwide that killed at least 100 militants and led to 31 arrests.

“The deadliest operations occurred in Balochistan, where 50 militants, including key BLA and BLF commanders, were eliminated, while intense operations in KP and former FATA killed 48 militants but also resulted in civilian and security casualties. Intelligence-led raids in Sindh, Punjab, AJK, and ICT produced arrests with minimal losses, underscoring a more lethal and proactive security posture amid escalating conflict dynamics,” it maintained.