Five militants killed in CTD, police operation in Bannu

BANNU: Five militants were killed during a joint intelligence-based operation by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and police in Bannu on Thursday evening, officials said.

The operation was carried out near Gul Bahar Chowk, within the jurisdiction of Haveed Police Station, after security personnel received intelligence about the presence of militants in the area.

According to the CTD, the militants opened indiscriminate fire after spotting the security personnel, triggering a gun battle that continued for around 40 minutes. Local police officials had earlier said the exchange of fire lasted for several hours.

The CTD said five militants were killed during the operation, while several others managed to escape. Earlier, Bannu District Police Officer Furqan Bilal had put the number of slain militants at four.

No police or CTD personnel were injured in the exchange of fire, the DPO Furqan Bilal said.

Officials said the process of identifying the slain militants and completing their criminal profiling was underway. Their names would be released once their identities were confirmed.

Security personnel recovered five Kalashnikov rifles, 10 magazines, five bandoliers, two hand grenades and ammunition from the militants’ possession, according to the CTD.

Police said a search and clearance operation was launched to trace the militants who had fled the area. DPO Bilal later said the clearance operation had been completed, while further investigation into the incident was continuing.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed praised the CTD team and local police for carrying out the operation.

He said action would continue against the facilitators and networks of Fitna al-Khawarij, a term used for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) until terrorism was completely eliminated.

The police chief added that militants would be pursued to their hideouts and brought to justice.