Security forces kill terrorists who attacked Bannu’s CTD compound
Security forces have gunned down the terrorists who attacked the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) compound in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, security sources said on Tuesday.
The operation was launched after Taliban terrorists stormed the CTD compound in Bannu and held hostages on Sunday.
Footage aired on TV today showed plumes of smoke rising from the CTD compound.
The situation in Bannu district remained tense yesterday as the police and security agencies sealed off the cant area and directed the residents to stay indoors, besides suspending internet and mobile services in the area.
The development comes amid a surge in terrorist attacks in Pakistan, with four policemen martyred and four injured in a late-night attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat district of Bannu division on Sunday.
Earlier a day, a sub-inspector of the Intelligence Bureau was shot dead in Peshawar, while an army officer and two civilians were martyred and twenty others were injured in a suicide attack in North Waziristan.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the incident. In a statement, the TTP spokesperson said that its members took CTD staff and security personnel hostage.
He added that the banned TTP negotiated with the government officials throughout the night and asked them to transfer the prisoners to South or North Waziristan.
The banned militants inside the occupied CTD center also released several videos asking the people of Bannu, especially the Ulema, to resolve the standoff between the militants and the law enforcement agencies (LEA) through dialogue.
In a video clip released, the detainee described himself as “innocent” and said that many other innocent people, held hostage by the Taliban militants, were inside the CTD compound.
The banned militants demanded safe passage to Afghanistan and warned of dire consequences if the demand was not met.
The wave of terrorist attacks has risen across the province in the last few months, the report said. At least 118 terrorist incidents were reported in KP from mid-August till the last week of November, according to official numbers.
