KOHAT, June 10: Police on Friday arrested a local commander of banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and his two accomplices after an encounter in Thall Behzadi area and four suspected militants carrying hand grenades at Khushalgarh Bridge on Kohat-Rawalpindi road here.

Police officials here claimed that the accused, identified as Masta Mir, was a local commander of the TTP and had committed target killings and other heinous crimes in Kohat, Hangu, and Kurram Agency. They said that Mir was also involved in attacks on convoys of security forces on the Hangu-Parachinar road.

The officials said that police got information that the local militant commander was hiding in Thall Behzadi area in a house with his accomplices.

They said that police cordoned off the area at around 5am and asked them to surrender, but they refused and instead opened fire on the raiding party. The police said that after half an hour battle Masta Khan was arrested along with arms. They said that his two accomplices were later arrested during a search operation in the area.

Meanwhile, four suspected militants carrying hand-grenades were arrested on the strategic Khushalgarh Bridge on Friday. The bridge on the Indus River connects southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab.

Police said that the accused were carrying three hand-grenades and two Kalashnikovs in a Suzuki van (STC-533). After their arrest the police guards deputed at the bridge shifted them to Gumbat police station on Rawalpindi road.

The officials said that three of the suspects belonged to Orakzai Agency while one, Daud Khan, was a resident of Shahuwam area of Hangu district. The three were identified as Qasim Jan and Mohammad Swad of Ghiljo and Sharab Khan of Smana, Orazkai Agency.

The arrests were made on a tip-off by the security forces who asked the police to erect barricades and arrest the suspected militants, who either wanted to blow up the bridge or would cross into Punjab for carrying out terrorism acts.