Raids in Attock: Five suspected target killers held

Police say accused have close links with terrorists.

ATTOCK: The Attock police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang of target killers by arresting six of tis members during different raids in the city. 

According to the police, the suspects were allegedly involved in the killing of several people including personnel of law enforcement agencies.

After several sectarian and other killings in the district in the last six months, the police were on a hunt to trace the killers, said an official of the police.

A team led by SDPO Attock Saddar police circle DSP Abdul Hafeez and SDPO Hazro police circle DSP Syed Shaukat Shah raided a hideout in the city and arrested a suspect, identified as Inamur Rahim, who provided the lead to whereabouts of his eight accomplices.

On the basis of information provided by the arrested suspect, the police raided another hideout in the city and arrested five of his accomplices, who were identified as Usman Jalil, Shamsur Rehman, Dr Arif Usmani and Maulana Muhammad Kousar, residents of the Attock city and  Usman Jalil, a resident of Jand tehsil.

During the preliminary investigation, the suspects allegedly confessed to have been involved in the killing of several people, including security officials. During investigation, the suspects also said they would usually escape to Afghanistan and the tribal areas after committing crimes to lay low and then return for their next mission.

The police said the raids were under way to arrest other suspects, adding that all the accused belonged to a banned outfit and had close links with militants in Afghanistan and North Waziristan.

Police sources added that the arrested persons would be produced in a court to obtain their physical remand for further interrogation.

Meanwhile, the police also shared details of the target killings in the district in the last six months.

According to the police, IB official Qamar Aneess, police constables Muhammad Wasiq  and  Bilal Ahmed,   Wapda security guard Muhammad Aslam, religious figure Alamdar Hussain Shah, and a citizen,  Amjd Hussain alias Anji and a  retired PAF official, Latif Aalam have been killed in targeted incidents in the district in the last six months.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2015.