14 terrorist facilitators held in KP’s Bannu operation

FC soldier martyred in Bannu quadcopter attack

Staff Report

PESHAWAR:  Amid a spate of terrorist and quadcopter attacks, police on Friday carried out a search and targeted operation alongside security forces in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, arresting “14 terrorist facilitators and destroying three hideouts”.

Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu in July.

Bannu police spokesperson Khanzala Quraishi said in a statement: “Pakistan Army and police conducted a joint operation in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas based on intelligence inputs and arrested 14 facilitators of the banned organisation, while 3 hideouts of terrorists were demolished.”

Quraishi added that the operation was carried out on information about the presence of terrorists in Wazirabad and Tudonar along the Tuchi River, where five suspected targets were cleared. Security forces also seized three vehicles, which included two motorcycles and a rickshaw.

“Joint patrols were also conducted in Hoveed Bazaar and its surroundings to ensure the presence of security forces in the area,” the police spokesperson added.

In a statement issued earlier today, Quraishi had said: “This operation has been launched on the basis of intelligence reports, the main objective of which is to cleanse the area from the scourge of terrorism and establish lasting peace.”

The operation began at 5am on Friday, according to Quraishi, and was launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan under the supervision of District Police Officer Saleem Abbasi Kalachi.

“During the operation, security forces and police personnel have completly surrounded the area and house-to-house searches are ongoing,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier was martyred and three others wounded in a drone attack targeting a security checkpost in the Takhti Khel Bakakhel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bannu district, police said on Friday.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Bannu Saleem Abbas Kulachi, the quadcopter drone dropped explosives on the FC checkpost in the Bakhakhel area, resulting in the martyrdom of one soldier and injuring three others.

The injured personnel were shifted to a nearby hospital, he said.

In response to the incident, FC and KP police jointly launched the joint search operation in the area to track down terrorists.

The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the Havid area of Bannu district.