LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police claimed on Thursday to have killed three terrorists in an encounter in Lucky Tibbi Area of Khanewal. Another team arrested three suspects in Gujranwala.

A CTD spokesman said a team of law enforcers in Multan received intelligence reports that seven or eight members of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ) were hiding in a house in Lucky Tibbi Area and were planning to attack sensitive installations. He said the CTD team raided the hideout and asked the terrorists to surrender late on Wednesday night.

He said the terrorists after seeing police opened fire at them and the latter retaliated. When the firing stopped, three terrorists were found dead while their four or five accomplices managed to escape taking benefit of darkness.

The spokesman said two of the terrorists were identified as Inamur Raheem and Usman Jaleel and efforts were carried out to identify the third. He said they also recovered four hand grenades, two pistols, ammunition and two rifles they had snatched from the law-enforcement agencies some time back. The bodies were shifted to morgue.

Lucky Tibbi is one of the most notorious areas in Punjab where a number of militants and their facilitators used to stay in their hideouts. In the past the police in collaboration with intelligence agencies conducted several operations and smashed gangs of banned outfits and robbers.

In another operation in Gujranwala, the CTD arrested three members of the banned Islamic State (IS) and recovered explosives from their possession. The spokesman said a Gujranwala CTD team got information that three suspected terrorists belonging to IS were present in Upper Chenab Bridge Canal of Sambrial and were planning to attack sensitive installations in Sialkot.

He said the CTD team raided the hideout and arrested Yahya Dilawar, Mohammad Farooq and Ali Asad. He said they also recovered 1,550 gram explosive, three detonators and 7.5 feet Prima cord from their custody.

A case was registered against the terrorists at the Gujranwala CTD police station under sections 4/5 ESA and 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

ISPR: According to a press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations, security forces conducted 29 cordon and search operations and IBOs in the last 24 hours in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Lohdran, Pakpattan and Bahawalnagar and arrested nine terrorists.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2017