TTP commander with Rs6 million bounty eliminated

Two army soldiers, two CTD officials also martyred.

RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR:

A top military strategist of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carrying a multimillion bounty on his head was eliminated along with his second-in-command and a guard in a joint intelligence-based operation in a village on the edge of Peshawar on Wednesday.

At least four security men were also martyred in the IBO jointly conducted by the Pakistan Army and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the K-P Police in Hassankhel village located in the Mattani suburb of Peshawar.

The joint IBO was carried out on the reported presence of a high-profile terrorist in the area, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing. “During the conduct of the operation, three terrorists, including HVT terrorist commander Abdul Raheem, were sent to hell after an intense exchange of fire,” it said, adding that weapons and ammunition were recovered from them.

Terrorist commander Abdul Raheem was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies and the government had announced a head money of Rs6 million on him, according to the ISPR.

“He remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, and was also responsible for the Shahadat of Captain Hussain Jehangir Shaheed and Havildar Shafiq Ullah Shaheed on 26 May 2024,” the statement added. “Today’s operation has avenged the heinous act and has brought the main perpetrator to justice.”

However, the military also confirmed that four brave sons of soil embraced martyrdom during the intense exchange of fire. It identified the martyrs as 34-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Idrees, resident of Swabi district, 34-year-old Sepoy Badam Gul, resident of Kohat district, of Pakistan Army, and 38-year-old Sub Inspector Tajmir Shah, resident of Peshawar district and 34-year-old Assistant Sub Inspector Muhammad Akram, resident of Mansehra district of CTD K-P.

“Pakistan’s security forces stand shoulder to shoulder with other law enforcement agencies to ensure peace and stability across of Pakistan and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,” reads the ISPR statement.

HVT Abdul Raheem had previously survived two drone strikes and multiple counter-terror operations. He was TTP’s chief operations commander in the region and a member of the group’s Peshawar Shura, said senior police officials. Abdul Raheem was responsible for training recruits, operational management of the group’s activities and selecting targets for attacks.

He had joined the Frontier Constabulary (FC) but deserted it in 2013. After hiding for almost three years, he reemerged in 2016 as a member of the banned militant outfit. The TTP also released a short statement, confirming the death of commander Abdul Raheem during the Mattani operation.

There has been a spurt in terrorist violence in K-P since the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban. Islamabad has repeatedly shared credible evidence with the de facto rulers of Afghanistan of TTP’s sanctuaries on their soil. However, the Taliban have been reluctant to act against the TTP.

Wednesday’s IBO came a day after five security officials, including an Army captain, were martyred in three separate incidents in Lakki Marwat, North and South Waziristan districts.

Captain Muhammad Osama bin Arshad, 24, a resident of Rawalpindi district, was martyred during an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in North Waziristan, while three other soldiers were martyred in South Waziristan district during intense clashes with militants.

Meanwhile, Shaheed Captain Osama bin Arshad was laid to rest with full military honours in his ancestral area on Wednesday. A large number of senior military officers, soldiers, youth, relatives of the martyr, and local residents attended the funeral. “The war against terrorism will continue until the eradication of terrorism from the motherland,” the ISPR said in a statement.