CTD arrests suspect involved in Peshawar airport attack

PESHAWAR:

The counter-terrorism department has arrested a suspected terrorist who targeted a plane at Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) in June last year.

According to a handout issued by the department on Friday, Noor Muhammad alias Yar Muhammad, a resident of Amangarh, Nowshera, was arrested during a raid conducted in Ring Road. “CTD received a tip-off from an intelligence agency,” read the statement. “During interrogation, Noor Muhammad confessed to firing on Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-756 from Riyadh to Peshawar on June 25, 2014.”

A CTD official told The Express Tribune that Noor was a member of a banned terrorist outfit. However, he refused to name the militant organisation.

“We have evidence that the suspect was involved in killing security personnel and collecting extortion,” the official added. Noor has been handed over to Badhaber police station.

On June 25, 2014, gunmen fired on the plane as it was landing at BKIA. As a result, a woman was killed and two cabin crew members were injured.

The incident had severe consequences on the security dynamics of the province and resulted in temporary suspension of flights to the airport. Moreover, a large number of international airlines refused to continue flight operations in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2015.