Six terrorists killed in joint CTD, police operation in Lower Dir

PESHAWAR: Six suspected terrorists were killed in a joint operation by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department and Lower Dir police in the district’s hilly areas on Wednesday, according to an official CTD statement.

The statement said those killed were among the ‘most-wanted terrorists’ and had been involved in a recent attack on the Badwan Bridge checkpost in Lower Dir in which Constable Mohammad Ismail was martyred. It added that after the attack, the CTD and district police had sealed off the area.

According to the CTD, security personnel later received information that a group described in the statement as Fitna-al-Khawarij was present in the mountainous area of Lower Dir. The state uses the term Fitna al-Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The statement said the CTD and district police moved to arrest the suspects when they emerged from their hideouts.

Describing the encounter, the CTD said the suspects fired first at police teams, prompting a retaliatory response from law enforcers. The statement said the exchange of fire continued for a considerable period, after which six bodies were recovered during a search operation in the area.

The CTD said the slain suspects were wanted in multiple terrorism cases. It also said law enforcers recovered six Kalashnikovs, three hand grenades and multiple cartridges from their possession.

The statement added that a search operation was still under way to trace and arrest other accomplices who had managed to flee.

Officials praise operation

The CTD statement said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed praised the district police and the CTD for the operation and said such actions would continue across the province.

According to the statement, the provincial police chief said operations will continue with full force until terrorism is eradicated from the province and that the writ of the state will be maintained.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also lauded the CTD and police for what the Interior Ministry, in a post on X, described as a successful operation. The post said the minister praised the professional capability of the teams involved for killing six terrorists.