WEB DESK: Security forces killed two militants, including a key commander of the Fitna al-Khawarij network, during a successful intelligence-based operation in the Mughal Kot sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, officials said on Saturday.
According to security sources, the operation specifically targeted the Tariq Kachhi group, a faction of the Fitna al-Khawarij network. During the exchange of fire, the group’s leader, Tariq Kachhi, and another militant identified as Hakeemullah alias Tiger were killed.
Security personnel also seized a large cache of weapons, ammunition, and other materials from the site. The operation was described as part of ongoing counter-terrorism efforts aimed at dismantling militant cells operating in the region.
Sources said Tariq Kachhi had been involved in terrorist activities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past two years and had links to extortion rackets run in the name of the Fitna al-Khawarij Taliban.
He was also reportedly facilitating the infiltration of militants from Afghanistan into Pakistan, according to intelligence reports. Officials said the successful operation dealt a significant blow to the group’s organisational structure and reaffirmed the security forces’ resolve to eliminate terrorism from the region.
Five civilians martyred, four militants killed
In a separate incident, according to security sources, on October 17, militants attempted a failed suicide attack on the Khadi post in Mir Ali. The cowardly attack by the Khawarij terrorists resulted in the martyrdom of three women and two children. Security forces successfully foiled the assault, killing four militants in retaliation. The outlawed Gul Bahadur group later claimed responsibility for the attack, security sources added.
Eighteen Khawarij militants killed
On Friday, security forces killed 18 Indian-backed Khawarij militants during multiple intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan and Datta Khel, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said on Friday. The operations, conducted on October 16, targeted militants operating as Afghan Taliban proxies. In Lakki Marwat, eight wanted militants were killed, while four attackers, including a suicide bomber, were eliminated during an assault on a security camp in Mir Ali, North Waziristan.
Another six militants, including commander Mehboob alias Muhammad, were killed in Datta Khel after days of surveillance. Officials said over 100 militants sent by the Afghan Taliban had been neutralised in the past four days as part of the National Action Plan. Meanwhile, authorities in Islamabad discovered an unregistered camp of Afghan nationals in Sohan Zone, suspected of aiding land-grabbing networks. Intelligence agencies have raised concerns over their suspicious movements, while police said the matter falls under the district administration’s jurisdiction.