Three terrorists involved in Peshawar imambargah attack ‘killed in encounter’

Police officials to share information about militants at a press conference to be held on Wednesday

PESHAWAR:

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police with the help of other law enforcement agencies killed three terrorists in a shootout at Regi Lalma area of the Peshawar-Khyber border in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, officials said.

According to CTD insiders, the three terrorists were part of a network involved in the suicide attack on Peshawar's Kocha Risaldar imambargah that left 63 dead and dozens more injured on Friday. The militants were also responsible for other terrorist attacks on law enforcement agencies including killing police personnel, they added.

According to sources, the terrorists were entering Peshawar with the intention of carrying out terrorist activities in Khyber district before being killed in the encounter.

Moreover, automatic weapons, grenades and ammunition were also recovered from the terrorists.

Also read: Mastermind of Peshawar attack was arrested last year

According to initial reports, the three terrorists have been identified. However, further details about them will be shared today (Wednesday) during a press conference.

On Monday, intelligence officials said they had arrested the mastermind of the terrorist group that orchestrated Friday’s Kocha Risaldar attack last year and kept constant tabs on the group’s activities in the country.

The group first registered an alarm in the intelligence radar during its attempts to launch an assault on last year’s Christmas celebrations – an attack that was successfully averted after strict measures were put in place on the prior information obtained from the mastermind under the custody.

The group’s motive behind the attack was to discredit the country’s global image, the officials privy to the developments shared, adding that security agencies had been looking out for the suicide bomber since December.

“Intelligence officials were everywhere — as per information of the man under security officials’ captivity — but the bomber reached directly to the handler after coming from Afghanistan,” the official told The Express Tribune.

During the interrogation, the accused had revealed that a suicide bomber had arrived in Pakistan for an attack in Peshawar during the Christmas celebrations on December 25.