Security forces arrest TTP commander in Hangu

Published March 3, 2015
Taliban fighters pose with weapons in an undisclosed location.  REUTERS/Stringer
Taliban fighters pose with weapons in an undisclosed location. REUTERS/Stringer

HANGU: Security forces on Tuesday arrested four members of the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during a raid in the Chapri Naryab region.

TTP commander alias Lal Sher was among the four suspected militants who were later taken to an unknown location for further interrogation.

Weapons and bombs were also recovered from their hideout, security forces said.

Hangu had been on the frontline of a seven-year-long Taliban insurgency and borders the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and the northwestern tribal region of Orakzai, one of Pakistan's seven lawless districts on the Afghan border considered to be the hub of Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants.

Last year, it was the stage of several deadly Taliban attacks on security forces and civilians alike.

Read: Policemen among four dead in Hangu attack.

Security forces have strengthened their resolve to combat terrorism in the country after the deadly Peshawar school massacre in which more than 130 children were killed. The tragic incident sparked national outrage and mobilised the government and military to chalk out a National Action Plan (NAP) — a policy to combat terror which includes the introduction of military courts as well as the biometric registration of citizens in a bid to deliver swift justice.

Security forces are conducting operations across the country with varied success, including in the financial capital Karachi, where Rangers and police are targeting terrorist hideouts and making mass arrests.

For more: Over 10,000 arrested as National Action Plan against terror continues

Early last month, it emerged that at least 10,000 people have been arrested by civilian and military agencies as part of the implementation of NAP.

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