TTP commander killed, three army men injured in DI Khan crossfire

ISPR says 8 suspects were also held during a routine sanitization operation in Luni Jungle area near Kulachi

A militant commander associated with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed and eight others were nabbed during a “routine sanitisation operation” by Pakistan Army in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.

“One terrorist affiliated with TTP (Naurang) was killed in exchange of fire. During search of area eight suspects were apprehended,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.

Meanwhile, three security forces personnel, including Major Abbas, Captain Omer and Naik Adnan, were also injured in the exchange of fire with terrorists, the communiqué read. It said the operation was being conducted in Luni Jungle area, some eight kilometres south of Kulachi in DI Khan.



Pakistan’s battle against the Taliban insurgency began in 2004 after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan forced militants to flee across the border. The army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the tribal regions and bring an end to a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004.

It has conducted a series of military offensives as well as concerted efforts to block militants’ sources of funding. Last year the country recorded its lowest number of killings since 2007 when the TTP was formed. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks.