PESHAWAR: A militant, allegedly belonging to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was killed in a police encounter in the Gula Khan Zangal area adjacent to Akka Khel, Khyber Agency in the jurisdiction of Badabher police station on Tuesday. His accomplices managed to escape.
A contingent of police was deployed in the Gula Khan Zanagal area, a village bordering Khyber Agency, after reports emerged of militants crossing into the settled district.
Talking to The Express Tribune, SHO Abirur Rehman said that the militants entered the settled district from Akka Khel and when they were asked to stop for a security check, they opened fired at the police. The exchange of fire between the two resulted in the death of one militant whose body was taken into custody by the police.
“In the ensuing gun battle, which lasted about 15 minutes, we killed a militant while his other four friends managed to escape despite a subsequent search operation by the police to arrest them,” he said. A pistol, hand grenade and pamphlets have been recovered from the body which has been identified as Umar, he added.
“He is a young man in his 20s and we suspect that he has connections with the Tehreek-i-Taliban, Darra Adam Khel,” he said.
Militants have become active in the area for the past couple of weeks. On Saturday, they attacked a filling station on Kohat Road when the owner refused to pay Rs10 million demanded by the militants.
A day earlier, Lashker-e-Islam (LI) militants attempted to kidnap a man from Zahidabad, Sheikhan. They had demanded Rs2 million from him and when he refused to pay them, LI militants tried to kidnap him but the man’s personal guards resisted the attempt long enough for the police to reach the site for their rescue.
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