Personnel come under fire on reaching location, exchange continued for some time before a search operation began
PESHAWAR:
Three terrorists belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Bhittani Group were killed during an intelligence-based operation jointly conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and district police in Tank on Friday, according to a CTD statement.
The operation was carried out in the Garah Fakira area along Jandola Road in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), within the jurisdiction of SMA police station, after the CTD received intelligence that terrorists were present in the area and planning a major attack, the statement said.
Security personnel came under fire when they reached the location and returned fire in self-defence and in an attempt to arrest the suspects. The exchange of gunfire continued for some time.
After the firing stopped, a search operation was conducted in the area, during which three bodies were found. Two of the men were identified as Osama, son of Sultan, and Suleman, son of Wali Muhammad, both residents of Faqeer Kallay in Jandola. The identity of the third man was still being established, the statement added.
The CTD said preliminary information suggested that the men had been involved in several terrorist attacks.
According to the statement, the suspects had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on the roof of a shop near the Meera Alam petrol pump. The device exploded, killing two police personnel and a civilian and injuring seven people.
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The men had also planted an IED along the main road in Wana Bazaar and another on the roof of the office of Bilal, the head of a peace committee, the CTD said.
The statement added that Osama was the brother of Shoaib, a terrorist killed during an attack on Bannu Cantonment in 2025. Musa, who was killed in retaliatory fire after attacking police in Wana Bazaar, was also Osama’s cousin.
Security personnel recovered three Kalashnikov rifles, 11 magazines containing ammunition, and a mobile phone during the search operation. K-P Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed and the additional inspector general of the CTD praised the personnel involved in the operation for their professionalism, courage and bravery.
They reaffirmed their commitment to continuing operations against terrorism in the province and protecting the lives and property of the public, the statement concluded.
On September 25, the K-P CTD said it had foiled a major terrorist attack in Peshawar, killing one terrorist during an intelligence-based operation in the Garhi Sherdad area of Warsak Road.
The department said it had received intelligence that three suicide attackers had entered the provincial capital to target a sensitive installation. CTD Constable Muhammad Afaq was martyred, and three other personnel were injured in the exchange of fire, while a search operation was launched to apprehend the two remaining attackers.
