CTD kills nine militants in KP operations

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday claimed to have killed nine terrorists and arrested 21 others during intelligence-based operations in Karak and Khyber districts.

The Central Police Office (CPO) said that the operations were part of investigations into cases including the suicide attack at the Haqqania seminary and a planned attack on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leading to significant breakthroughs.

It said that investigators had uncovered militant financing networks, funding sources, safe houses and target selection patterns, adding that evidence of cryptocurrency being used for terror financing had also been found.

According to the CPO, sleeper cells linked to banned organisations and networks of foreign fighters had been traced, while authorities also identified what it called a coordinated militant network involved in multiple attacks.

It said that cross-border links and difficult terrain remained key challenges in investigations into militant activity.

The police said that responsibility for several major attacks, including the Police Lines suicide bombing and the Haqqania seminary blast, had not been claimed, while claims made by banned outfits in some cases were found to be false or misleading.

Security forces frequently conduct intelligence-based operations against militant groups, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, regions that have seen a resurgence in militant violence in recent years.