By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Seven militants from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan were killed on Saturday in a hours-long gun battle with police and counterterrorism forces who received critical support from local residents in a remote corner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, officials said.
The clash took place in the Takhtikhel area on the border between Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts after police acted on specific intelligence that members of the TTP, officially termed Fitna al-Khawarij by the Pakistani government, were present in the area.
“A large police contingent backed by CTD commandos was dispatched to the remote rural area when local police authorities received credible information about the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists,” a spokesman for the regional police officer said.
When security forces moved to encircle the militants, a heavy exchange of fire broke out that continued for several hours. Police recovered five bodies at the scene and found two more during a subsequent search. No police or civilian casualties were reported in the fighting.
The regional police chief said the militants had initially gathered in the Shaikh Landak area, under Havaid police jurisdiction, with the apparent intention of attacking a police post. When police, backed by residents, responded, the militants fled toward Takhtikhel, where they were met by additional forces and armed tribesmen from both districts.
“The terrorists were surrounded by the police and armed tribesmen of both districts,” the regional police officer, Sajjad Khan, said. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead militants, and a search continued for any accomplices who may have escaped. “Law enforcers are busy in the sanitisation operation to clear the area of other terrorists and recover the bodies of more slain Khawarij, if any,” Khan added.
The provincial police chief, Zulfiqar Hameed, praised the operation as evidence of his force’s readiness. “The personnel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police are always ready to maintain law and order and protect the people, and these operations are a practical proof of this determination,” a police statement quoted the regional police officer as saying.
Officials emphasised the role of civilians. “The police received full support and cooperation from the public during the operation,” the statement said. “The residents of the area stood by the police and continuously provided information about suspicious activities, which helped a lot in making the operation successful.”
The Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out some of the deadliest attacks in the country since the late 2000s, sharply increased assaults on security forces after the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of giving sanctuary to the Pakistani militants and has claimed Indian support for cross-border attacks — charges that both Kabul and New Delhi deny.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan spiked last month after Pakistani airstrikes on Oct. 11 targeted alleged TTP sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. A brief clash followed until a cease-fire was reached in Doha on Oct. 19. Two rounds of talks in Istanbul have not fully eased the strain. In separate incidents in the same region, militants detonated an explosive device under a small bridge on the Bannu-Miranshah Road late Friday, partially damaging the structure but causing no casualties. On Friday evening, four people — including two teenagers — were wounded when explosives were dropped from a quadcopter onto a cricket ground in the Sherikhel area of Lakki Marwat where villagers had gathered to watch a match.
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