Islamic State target killer detained in Peshawar

The arrested militant confesses to involvement in killing 15 policemen, says official

PESHAWAR: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a notorious target killer affiliated with the self-styled Islamic State in Peshawar.

The department arrested Muhammad Farid from Qazi Kalay in the vicinity of Faqirabad police station. "Farid has confessed to being involved in as many as 32 cases of target killing, resulting in the deaths of 15 policemen," a CTD official told The Express Tribune.

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“The militant recently joined the Islamic State and has worked for several banned outfits in the past,” the official said. According to the official, Farid had been trained in Afghanistan's Jaba Toba area in 2008 and had remained active since then.

The official went on to add that one of Farid's brothers had been killed by security forces in an encounter. Another, the official said, had joined the Islamic State in Afghanistan.



"The militant was actively involved in armed robberies and extortion," he said. "Farid would detonate explosives outside the houses of people who declined to pay up.”

The accused has been operating under five fake names that included Raja, Sabat, Abdullah and Sabitay, the official said.

Earlier on August 31, Islamic State had claimed responsibility for killing a Special Branch official in Peshawar's Waris Town.