Six terrorists killed in CTD operation in Lakki Marwat

• IBO comes a day after seven police personnel, including SHO Shadi Khel Police were martyred in an IED attack

 PESHAWAR/LAKKI MARWAT: Six terrorists, belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij, were killed in an intelligence-based operation carried out by the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) in Lakki Marwat, police said.

According to a CTD statement, the neutralized terrorists were involved in the martyrdom of seven police personnel of the Shadi-Khel Police, during an IED attack on Friday.

The IBO comes a day after seven police personnel, including the Station House Officer (SHO) of Shadi Khel Police, were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeting a police mobile van in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), officials said on Friday.

“The police mobile van came under attack in the Bettani subdivision while on routine patrol,” said Qudratullah, spokesperson for the district police officer. Six officers, including the SHO and five constables, were killed instantly, he added.

The terrorists had planted an IED along the Shahdi Khel-Masti Khel Road to target law enforcement personnel.

The CTD statement said the terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation and a large cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered during the operation.

CTD personnel conducted the operation in Shagai area of Lakki Marwat district, after authorities received credible intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the area, according to a CTD spokesman.

The terrorists opened fire on the CTD team during the raid, triggering an exchange of fire that lasted around 40 minutes, the statement said.

Following the gun battle, security forces found six terrorists dead while several others managed to escape, taking advantage of the darkness.

“The process of identification of the deceased terrorists is underway, after which action will be taken against their facilitators and other associates,” the CTD spokesman said in a statement.

Police recovered a cache of weapons and explosives from the terrorists, including Kalashnikov rifles, hand grenades and an improvised explosive device.

Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Zulfiqar Hameed commended the CTD personnel for the successful operation and reiterated the police's resolve to continue operations against militant groups in the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has been grappling with a surge in militant attacks, by the terrorists of Fitna al-Khawarij (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), who have mounted assaults since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of failing to rein in militant groups that it says use Afghan soil to plan and launch attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.

Last month, Pakistan conducted air strikes against what it said were Pakistani Taliban and Daesh targets in Afghanistan, provoking the Afghan side to retaliate across their shared border. The two neighbors have since been locked in a conflict.