Seventeen terrorists were killed on Friday in two separate operations when Pakistani security forces’ helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The intelligence-based operations were conducted in the Bannu and the North Waziristan districts, according to security sources.

In the Baka Khel area of the Bannu district, 12 terrorists affiliated with the Hafiz Gulbahadur group were eliminated as choppers struck their compound.

The second operation was carried out in the Hasso Khel area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan, where five militants were killed.

A large cache of weapons and ammunition was seized from the militants, sources said. Security forces also released images of the killed terrorists.

The operation is ongoing, with reinforcements arriving for the security forces.

The security forces launched a massive operation against terrorists in response to the fresh wave of attacks against security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern districts.