Terrorist commander, accomplice killed in exchange of fire with CTD Bannu

Police team was transporting recently arrested terrorists commander Usama alias Baghi when it came under attack

PESHAWAR:

Two terrorists, including a detained commander, were killed on Sunday when the outlaws attacked on Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) vehcile in a bid to free their chief in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). 

According to officials, the CTD team was transporting a recently arrested high-profile terrorists commander, Usama alias Daniyal alias Baghi, to identify the crime scene in connection with the killing of Miranshah Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali Khan. The suspect was being taken to complete evidentiary requirements in the case when his accomplices launched an indiscriminate attack on the convoy to secure his release.

The CTD’s SWAT team responded promptly, leading to an intense gun battle. During the crossfire, the detained commander, Usama alias Daniyal alias Baghhi, was killed by firing from his own associates. The CTD’s armored personnel carrier also came under direct fire, but the personnel remained unharmed.

Authorities said that during interrogation, the slain commander had confessed to involvement in multiple high-profile attacks, including the killing of Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali Khan, former SHO Abid Wazir, and three leaders of the Marwat Qaumi Tehreek, among other serious incidents.

In retaliatory fire, security forces also killed another terrorist identified as Kamyab Khan alias Ikhlas Yar, son of Nabuwat Khan, a resident of Kabul Khel Shewa, North Waziristan. He was reportedly wanted by CTD Bannu in several cases involving attacks on police and security forces. Weapons recovered from his possession included a Kalashnikov rifle with two magazines, two hand grenades, a card linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a CNIC, and a mobile phone.

During a subsequent search operation, bloodstains were found at multiple locations, indicating that the fleeing terrorists had taken their injured accomplices with them. A search-and-strike operation is underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.

Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed and the Additional IGP CTD commended the professionalism and bravery of the personnel involved in the operation and reaffirmed their resolve to continue indiscriminate action against terrorist elements to ensure lasting peace, particularly in the southern districts of the province. 

The IGP stated that terrorists serve no one’s interests and are even willing to fire upon their own associates for personal motives, urging the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace.

K-P saw spike in terrorists activites as two Pakistani security personnel, including Lt Col Shahzada Gul Faraz and Sepoy Karamat Shah, were martyred on Saturday during a counter-terror operation in Bannu district.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, earlier, said that 80 per cent of all terrorist incidents in the country have occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He attributed the trend to what he described as a 'politically permissive environment' for terrorists and an emerging 'nexus between political and terrorist elements' in the province.