Bank van robbers eliminated in Dera
Two notorious terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in DI Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday.
The operation was conducted in Tehsil Kulachi, a suburb of DI Khan, by the security forces on a tip-off.
Official sources told The Express Tribune that the slain terrorists were wanted for their involvement in robbing cash vans belonging to private banks.
"These men were sought by police in several cases involving bank van robberies and kidnapping security guards," said a police official.
It may be recalled that all the commercial banks have closed down their branches in Daraban tehsil following these incidents.
The decision was taken by bank managements after two vans carrying cash to Waziristan and other parts of the district were taken away along with their security guards and drivers in the district.
Local residents told The Express Tribune that a few days ago The Bank of Punjab shut its branch and other banks followed suit within days.
It may be mentioned here that on July 31 an armoured vehicle carrying bank cash was taken away by terrorists along with five security guards on the DI Khan-Tank district border.
The vehicle carried Rs50 million in cash and suddenly lost control with its headquarters.
Later, TTP's social media page issued a statement, announcing the release of the security guards.
According to police, the van was going from Multan to South Waziristan. Suddenly, the van lost all contact with the control room.
Upon investigation, it was found out that the van had been hijacked with cash and guards.
TTP claimed responsibility for the act but said that guards would be released soon.
It may be recalled that a bank van was also taken away with cash and staff from Daraban area a month ago.
DI Khan is one of the troubled districts of K-P where sectarianism and terrorism go hand in hand for the past two decades.