LAKKI MARWAT: Police on Sunday claimed to have killed two militants of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakis­tan (TTP) while three others were injured in a joint operation carried out by police and security forces in Wanda Zareefwal and Shaikh Badin areas.

District Police Officer (DPO) Taimur Khan said security personnel were dispatched to the mountainous belt bordering Dera Ismail Khan district after information rec­e­ived about the presence of the militants there.

“The operation started on May 10 at 8:00pm and continued for 36 hours in the hard and difficult terrain,” he said, adding that the TTP militants attacked security personnel with automatic weapons when they reached near their hideouts.

“The security personnel surrounded the area and after an intense exchange of fire killed two militants and injured three others.”

The DPO said the militants were wanted in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts in cases of target killings, extortion, explosions and attacks on police.

Separately, police arrested a street criminal in injured condition after exchange of fire in Begukhel area near Lakki Marwat city.

An official said that a party of city police station met Arifullah, a resident of Peshawar, when it was returning from Begukhel after raiding hideouts of anti-social elements.

The man pointed towards a suspect running in the fields and claimed he had snatched his mobile phone and cash.

The suspect opened fire on the policemen when they chased him and after a brief exchange of fire, police arrested the suspect, Muhammad Khalil, in injured condition and shifted him to a hospital.

Moreover, a police armoured carrier was damaged when an IED went off in Hazar Khwani area on Ring Road, within the remit of Yakka Toot police station on Sunday, police said.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2024