- Forces secure ‘safe release’ of all hostages after two-hour-long operation
- Defence minister blames PTI’s KP govt ‘incompetence’ for rise in terror incidents
PESHAWAR/BANNU: The security forces, on Tuesday afternoon, took back the Bannu Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Centre and cleared the building after killing all 33 terrorists inside the compound while securing release of all the hostages from their captivity.
An officer of the SSG group – the elite unite of Pakistan Army sustained gunshot wounds while two jawans embraced martyrdom during the two hours long operation.
According to officials, the operation conducted by the Special Services Group of Pakistan Army (SSG) was started at 12:30pm Tuesday after the terrorists refused to set free the hostage staff of CTD.
The SSG commandos cleared the compound at 2:30pm after two hours long operation and killed all 33 terrorists inside the centre.
The sources said that around 10 to 15 SSG jawans including an officer sustained injuries while two embraced martyrdom.
On Sunday, the militants held hostage the staff at CTD centre after one of the outlaw snatched a rifle from its staffer after hitting him on head with the brick.
There were reports that the arrested militants were demanding a safe airlift to Afghanistan along with their detained accomplices in return for the release of the hostage staff.
Prior of the operation, the emergency was imposed in all three major hospitals of Bannu, while the local administration as a precautionary measure had closed educational institutions.
The people in the vicinity were asked to remain indoors and traffic in the area was also suspended.
SSG completes operation against terrorists at Bannu CTD centre
On other hand, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said that the Special Services Group (SSG) had completed the operation against terrorists at Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Centre Bannu, recovering all hostages and killing all members of the outlaw organization.
Sharing details of the operation conducted by security forces against militants, who besieged the CTD center in Bannu, the minister informed the joint sitting of the parliament that all terrorists had been killed and the compound had been cleared at 2:30 pm on Tuesday.
He said that the operation started at 12:30 pm on December 20 (today) and concluded at 2:30 pm. He added around 10 to 15 SSG jawans including one officer received injuries while two embraced Shahadat.
The situation emerged after an arrested militant overpowered staff, snatched a rifle and later held hostages inside the CTD centre in Bannu, he added.
Kh Asif informed the House, “All the terrorists who had taken hostages at CTD centre in Bannu were killed during the operation of security forces.” He said that total 33 terrorists were inside the centre and all were killed in the operation carried out by the Pak Army’s SSG.
He said that it was a matter of concern that terrorist activities were increasing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and these 33 terrorists who were arrested was evidence of what was happening in KPK.
He said that the chief minister KPK and CTD department, which is responsible for countering terrorism in the province were actually hostages of Imran Khan as his government did nothing during last nine years even in floods and other untoward situations.
The minister said that this incident is again an utter failure of Imran Khan’s government in KPK and added that again Pakistan Army played its role. He added there was no role of the provincial government of KPK in handling the situation, where Imran Khan openly uses resources of the provincial government including its helicopter.
He said that there was a total collapse of the KPK province in the presence of Imran Khan as the CM cannot do anything without his permission.
Later, the minister informed the National Assembly that Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) will share the complete information about the operation against terrorists.
#بنوں اپریشن: یرغمالیوں کو چھڑانے کے لئے سکیورٹی فورسز کا اپریشن جاری ہے، دھماکوں اور فائرنگ کی آوازیں سنی جاسکتی ہیں pic.twitter.com/wvBsxwWscU
— Tahir Khan (@taahir_khan) December 20, 2022
An elite unit of the Pakistan Army retook a counter-terrorism interrogation centre in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa two days after militants from Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group seized it, security sources told Reuters, but the fate of hostages inside remained unclear.
UPDATE: The operation to clear the CTD Compound in #Bannu still continues, “there have been injuries” sources with direct knowledge told The Khorasan Diary, “There is still resistance from a portion of the building where firing continues despite some terrorists have been killed”. https://t.co/yoqqJ5uS06
— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) December 20, 2022
Six security officials and several detainees were inside the centre, said the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
“The operation is being concluded and there is no more resistance […] the security forces have entered into the compound,” one security source said.
He said details on the hostages and the number of casualties would be given after the clearance operation was completed.
Pakistani security forces have gunned down all militants in an operation aimed at freeing hostages in the #Bannu.Terrorists,who have taken control of the CTD center , have been eliminated.The operation was conducted by the SSG commandos & all hostages were reportedly recovered pic.twitter.com/pR801Zk6bP
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) December 20, 2022
The military and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The operation came after the detainees, who were held for years at the centre, overpowered their guards on Sunday, seized their weapons and took them hostage. On Monday, one officer at the centre was reported killed by the hostage-takers.
Officials tried to negotiate with the hostage-takers but after more than 40 hours of failed efforts, special forces deployed to the area stormed the compound, security and intelligence officials said. They did not elaborate.
By Tuesday afternoon, thick black smoke billowed into the sky from inside the compound, after two explosions were heard. Intermittent gunshots were reverberating across the area, the officials said. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing situation.
Leader of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, in a latest audio statement while addressing the imprisoned militants, who took the interrogators hostage inside the CTD compound in Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asking them not to surrender. https://t.co/M4vPk4Y5l2 pic.twitter.com/lyV7JO5DIB
— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) December 20, 2022
Security forces had surrounded the neighbourhood in which the centre is located, where about 20 fighters from the Afghanistan-based group were holed up.
“All options failed and the terrorists refused to free innocent people, so we decided to use force,” a senior security official told Reuters earlier.
He said the minimum force would be used to ensure the safe release of the hostages.
A member of the TTP earlier told Reuters the group’s leadership had lost contact with their people in the compound. “We are told that a military operation has started,” he said.
According to an update from another security official, the army’s elite commando unit, the Special Service Group (SSG), had been called in to carry out the operation.
Residents said they heard explosions coming from the vicinity of the centre on Tuesday.
The authorities on Monday opened talks to try to resolve the stand-off with the militants.
Earlier, officials said there were about 30 Taliban fighters involved in the takeover of the centre. The hostage-takers had demanded a safe passage to the former strongholds of the militant group.
The brazen taking over the centre on Sunday was a reflection of the government’s inability to exercise control over the remote region along the border with Afghanistan.
The TTP are loosely allied with the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has stepped up attacks since it announced the end of a Taliban-brokered ceasefire with Islamabad last month.
According to a provincial government spokesman, the militants were demanding safe passage to Afghanistan.
— With input from Associated Press
