SWABI: Four suspected militants were killed in a pre-dawn clash with police in a remote area of Swabi district on Wednesday. Two other suspected militants were arrested in Peshawar and explosives seized in Charsadda district.

DPO of Swabi Javaid Iqbal said that police had launched a search operation at about 4am on information about presence of a group of militants in the mountainous area of Maini village. When police cordoned off the area, the militants opened fire on them. Police fired back and killed the four militants in the ensuing shootout which continued for hours. A huge cache of weapons was found at the place.

A few days ago, a militant identified as Asim of Malikabad had blown himself up during a shootout with police. A policeman was injured and Asim’s associates left the area. But they returned to Maini village to attack government installations. Asim’s brother Ijaz is reported to be involved in imparting training to local militants.

Local people said they were awakened early in the morning by the heavy firing and remained in their homes till police cleared the area of militants.

DPO Iqbal said 35 suspects had been arrested during the operation. Those found innocent will be freed but supporters of militants will be dealt with according to law.

Replying a question, he admitted that about 12 militants and their supporters had escaped during the clash.

DSP of Topi, Shah Mumtaz Khan, said one of the slain militants had been identified as Shaukat alias Abbas, a resident of Maini village, who was wanted in Swabi and Mardan in connection with several incidents of terrorism.

He said the bodies of the militants had been taken to Civil Hospital in Topi for post-mortem.

Our Peshawar bureau adds: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police has claimed to have arrested two terrorists and foiled a bid to attack a Muharram procession in the city.

It said in a statement policemen had noticed three suspects carrying plastic bags sneaking into Peshawar from Khyber Agency.

It said police arrested two of the suspects but the third managed to escape. A walkie-talkie set, grenades, 30 bore pistols and locally made explosive devices were recovered from them.

During initial interrogation, the CTD said, the suspects confessed to their involvement in 18 to 20 incidents of terrorism and violence.

It said the suspects had provided explosives and shelter to militants who had attacked the Imamia Masjid in Hayatabad in February. In May they killed three members of a Shia family and attacked an army major. They took part in six attacks on Nato containers in 2013 and were also involved in the killing of SHOs of Peshawar’s Nasir Bagh and Hayatabad police stations.

Police said the suspects had planned an attack in the city during Ashura observance. Their names were not disclosed because it might affect investigation in the case.

Our Correspondent from Charsadda adds: Police have claimed to have recovered explosives from a room being used by the prayer leader of a mosque in Pala Dheri area.

DPO Charsadda Shafiullah Khan said acting on a tip-off police personnel raided the room where they found a bag containing 25kg explosives, two improvised devices, 10-metre-long prima cord, six remote control devices, 15 detonators and some mobile phones.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2015

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