Chilas bus attack mastermind killed in IBO

GILGIT: In an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Darel area of Diamer District, the mastermind behind last December’s Chilas bus attack, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Shah Faisal, has been killed, confirmed Faizullah Faraq, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan government.

At least 12 people were killed and 24 others sustained injuries when unidentified militants opened indiscriminate gunfire on a passenger bus en route from Ghizer to Rawalpindi in Hudur, Chilas, on December 1 last year.

“A key militant commander, Shah Faisal, the mastermind behind the Hudur incident, has been killed by security forces,” said Faraq.

Security forces launched the operation in the Badan area of Darel in Diamer district early on Thursday, targeting the perpetrators involved in the Huder bus attack. The operation was carried out at the hideout of militant commander Shah Faisal. Faraq said intense firing continued in the area, with cross-firing reported but no casualties among security personnel.

However, sources at Regional Headquarters Hospital Chilas confirmed that at least four personnel of Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and a woman among two civilians who were injured during the operation were brought to the hospital. The Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts personnel were referred to CMH Gilgit for further treatment.

“This is a crucial development,” stated Faraq, noting that the operation has significantly tightened the noose around the suspects. He said the killed commander was the mastermind behind the December bus attack on the Karakoram Highway, which claimed the lives of many innocent passengers.

Shah Faisal was affiliated with the TTP Abdul Rashid Ghazi Group and Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami. He was involved in numerous terrorist activities, including the murder of DSP Attaullah and his subordinate in the Darel Valley of Diamer District. The government had announced a cash prize of Rs1 million for information leading to his arrest.

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