The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday claimed to have arrested a facilitator of the December 1 terror attack on Peshawar's Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in which nine people were killed and 37 others injured.

Suspected facilitator Muhammad Ibrahim, son of Yar Muhammad, was arrested from Charsadda's Tarakzai area on the basis of prior intelligence, the KP CTD said.

According to sources within the CTD, the arrested suspect is currently being interrogated.

A day after the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan-claimed attack, which saw three burqa-clad terrorists storm the hostel of the ATI, nine suspects were arrested from the outskirts of Peshawar by law enforcement agencies.

Both police and military officials said the attackers had been coordinating with handlers based in Afghanistan.

The KP CTD had also registered a first information report for the ATI attack against unknown assailants on the complaint of Station House Officer (SHO) Town Ahmadullah Khan on charges including terrorism, murder, attempted murder and encounter.

Police have extended the investigation and sent body parts of the militants involved in the attack for forensic testing.

Peshawar: a victim of militancy

Peshawar has for decades been a victim of militancy due to its status as a front line region in the ongoing war against militancy as well as its proximity to the restless tribal areas and the lawless Pak-Afghan border.

The Pakistan Army had launched Operation Raddul Fasaad earlier this year in the aftermath of a fresh resurgence in terror attacks in the country.

The operation seeks to eliminate the "residual/latent threat of terrorism", consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders.

Hundreds of suspected terrorists have reportedly either been killed or arrested in raids carried out by security personnel since the start of the operation.

The number of attacks in the country has fallen around 70 per cent over the past year, due to a combination of the military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy, but attacks on security and civilian targets continue to occur.