Suspected suicide bomber killed in Peshawar CTD operation

PESHAWAR: A suspected suicide bomber was killed during an operation carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Garhi Sherdad area of Peshawar’s Warsak Road on Thursday.

According to the CTD, the suspected suicide bomber was killed during the exchange of fire, while a security official was martyred and another injured.

The two injured personnel were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where they were being provided medical treatment.

An LRH spokesperson said their condition was out of danger. The body of the martyred police official was also brought to the hospital, the spokesperson said.

The CTD operation in Garhi Sherdad is under way, officials said.

The development comes days after a deadly attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat, where an explosives-laden vehicle detonated near a mosque during Friday prayers on September 18 before armed militants stormed the compound.

The ensuing attack and clearance operation left 21 people dead, including 17 police personnel, while more than 100 people were injured.

Eight attackers were killed during the subsequent clearance operation, which continued for about 21 hours.

Elite Force commandos, CTD teams and security forces took part in the operation to clear key sections of the Police Lines.

The Kohat attack was claimed by Ittehadul Mujahideen, an outfit linked to Afghanistan-based militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur.

The latest operation in Peshawar also comes amid heightened security concerns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where security forces have intensified counter-terrorism operations following a series of militant attacks.

On Thursday, security sources separately said that eight terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan. The sources said weapons, ammunition and other equipment were recovered and the militants’ hideouts were destroyed.