Four suspects linked to Khanzada attack killed in CTD raid

According to reports, a gun battle ensued as security forces raided a house in outskirts of Lahore

Four terrorists suspected of involvement in the suicide attack that killed Punjab home minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada were killed in a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) raid near Lahore, Express News reported on Thursday.

According to reports, security forces raided a house near Badur village resulting in a gun battle. Four suspects were killed in the retaliatory fire while another four managed to flee, a CTD source said.

Read: High-profile assassination: Key suspect among five held in Khanzada case

The CTD conducted an intelligence-based raid on a house in Sherakot area on the outskirts of Lahore. Security forces seized arms and explosives from the possession of the accused. The suspects were identified as Amjad, Fayyaz, Sadaqat and Saddam.

On Tuesday, a senior official of the CTD revealed that the department had arrested five key suspects involved in the suicide attack that killed the Punjab home minister. The official had stated that Muawiya was the mastermind of the attack and provided support to the suicide bombers. The CTD produced Muawiya before the Rawalpindi judicial magistrate and obtained his 14-day physical remand.

The official further claimed a TTP-affiliated group headed by Qari Suhail, and ten other members played a key role in the attack. According to the official, Qari Suhail had sent suicide bombers to Attock a week before the attack to begin tracking the slain minister’s movements. The other suspects in the attack included Amjad, Fiaz, Niaz, Zaheer, Talha, Imran Sattar, Sadaqat and Sadam.

Khanzada and 16 others were killed in a suicide blast on August 16 at his political office in Shadi Khan, near Attock. Khanzada, 71, had been holding a meeting with locals when a suicide bomber blew himself up. The home minister and several others were buried under the rubble after the blast brought down the roof of the house.

Read: Terror in Attock: Punjab’s security czar assassinated

Khanzada was given charge of the home department in October 2014 and had been actively involved in major operations against terror outfits. The provincial department he headed was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, and protection of life and property of citizens. He had previously served as the as Punjab provincial minister and Adviser to the Punjab chief minister.