The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) gunned down three “terrorists”, including an Afghan national, during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) carried out in Khyber district late on Friday night.

Two among the three militants killed during the IBO, were involved in a suicide bombing in Peshawar which led to the deaths of a sub-inspector and a constable.

A statement issued by the CTD said that the department conducted an IBO based on the reported presence of Fazal Noor, a commander of the banned militant Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and his group members in Ali Masjid area of the district.

It added that as soon as the SWAT reached the spot, the militants opened fire which was retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for around 30 minutes.

The CTD said a search operation was launched after the firing stopped and the SWAT team found three dead bodies who were later identified as Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Karim, residents of Karak, and Noor Nabi, a resident of Nangarhar in Afghanistan, affiliated with the ISKP.

It added that Fazal Noor along with other group members escaped during the exchange of fire.

“The militant group had been under continuous technical surveillance, with investigators tracing their movements and confirming their identity through technical footprints,” the statement read, adding that the CTD traced their movement for the execution of a militant activity in the Lala Chena Dosarky Ali Masjid in Khyber district.

The statement said the SWAT team recovered three SMGs, 135 rounds, 12 magazines and three bundle wear, adding that the technical investigation linked the group to at least three militant attacks.

“Preliminary intelligence confirms that two militants who fled away from the scene were identified as a local commander of ISKP namely Fazal Noor and Hakim Nisar operating under foreign-based, foreign-funded handlers with active plans to conduct major terrorist activities in Peshawar and Khyber,” the statement read.