Counter-terrorism officer killed after militants seize compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
Pakistani security officials secure a road leading to the Bannu facility where militants seized a counter-terrorism facility on Monday.Pakistani security officials secure a road leading to the Bannu facility where militants seized a counter-terrorism facility on Monday.Taliban detainees overpowered their guards at a counter-terrorism centre in north-westernThe incident quickly evolved into a standoff.
Saif said the place was surrounded and that officials were trying to negotiate with the hostage-takers. He said an operation was under way but did not elaborate. Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban – also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP – confirmed the incident. He said some of the hostage-takers were members of the Pakistani Taliban who had been detained for years in Bannu.
Initially, the hostage-takers demanded in a video message posted on social media that they be airlifted to Afghanistan but Khurasani said that demand had been made by mistake, since their fighters were not aware – due to their prolonged detention – that TTP now “enjoys control in some” parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Afghan border.