Group suspected of involvement in vehicle-borne improvised explosive attacks targeting Chinese nationals
PESHAWAR:
Three suspected terrorists were killed while three policemen were killed during a joint targeted operation by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Elite Force and District Police in Kabalgram area of Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to KP CTD spokesperson Muhammad Ali.
The intelligence-based operation was launched in a remote mountain area of Kabalgram following confirmed reports of the presence of members of Fitna al-Khawarij (FAK), which the CTD described as a serious threat to law enforcement agencies and key national projects, the spokesman said.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term used by the state to refer to terrorists associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
According to the CTD spokesperson, the terrorists were hiding in natural caves with alleged local facilitation. He said the group had previously been involved in vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attacks targeting Chinese nationals and posed a continuing threat to the strategic road corridor near the Silk Road and related Chinese projects.
Security forces encountered the terrorists as they advanced towards their hideouts, triggering an intense exchange of fire. Three terrorists were killed, including Noor Islam alias Salman alias Khog Bacha, a resident of Kabalgram and the alleged leader of the group, who carried a bounty of Rs5 million.
One terrorist remains unidentified, while another allegedly detonated an explosive to avoid arrest.
Read: Three policemen were martyred in the Shangla operation
After the deaths, other terrorists took cover on a slope, making direct targeting difficult. As CTD and Elite Force personnel moved in to apprehend them, accomplices allegedly launched attacks using rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and automatic weapons to facilitate their escape, spokesman Muhammad Ali said. Security forces responded with retaliatory fire and repulsed the attack.
During the operation, three policemen – LHC Maqbool Ahmed (No. 438), LHC Fida Hussain and LHC Saeedur Rehman – were martyred. An Elite Force officer was injured and is undergoing treatment.
KP Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed said the dismantling of the network had prevented a planned threat to strategic infrastructure in the region and that a search operation was still underway. He also paid tribute to the fallen personnel and said that the KP Police had always made sacrifices in the line of duty.
Chinese nationals involved in regional infrastructure projects have long been targets of attacks. On 26 March 2024, six people, including five Chinese engineers, were killed in a suicide attack in Besham, located 18.8 km from Shangla.
Read more: At least two killed and 17 injured in IED blast in Bannu
An explosive-laden vehicle parked on the side of the road detonated as a convoy carrying Chinese engineers from Islamabad to the Dasu hydropower project area passed by.
This was the second attack targeting Chinese workers at the Dasu project.
In July 2021, at least nine engineers working on the Dasu project were killed in a suicide attack in the Kohistan region. Pakistan at the time accused Indian and Afghan intelligence services of involvement, although no group publicly claimed responsibility.
