Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also known as Pakistan’s Taliban has struck again. It has reportedly killed its country’s several police personnel and kept nine of them under captivity.
According to reports, the TTP undertook the attack in Bannu Cantonment Centre in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in restive northwest Pakistan. The terrorists laid under siege Pak’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and killed several Pakistani soldiers. The authorities are yet to determine the number of casualties.
Reports said about six well-equipped TTP fighters took the Pak personnel by surprise as they barged into the CTD station. After barging, they released their fellow fighters. The CTD had taken them in custody for interrogation. After this, the terrorists took control of the entire building and took several people hostage.
TTP members issued a video message from the inside CTD building. The video message said, that they are holding one Subedar Major Khurshed Akram, along with eight other personnel, as hostages.” In lieu of releasing the Pak personnel, the TTP fighters demanded a safe passage to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Pak Army has rushed soldiers to the spot for the rescue.
There has been increasing border clashes between TTP and Pak’s soldiers ever since the Taliban took over in Afghanistan. Recently on December 15, TTP fighters and Pakistani soldiers had clashed. The clash saw use of weapons like mortars and machine guns during the incident. Several civilians were injured.
This Pakistani Taliban movement had earlier announced to end a month long ceasefire in November. Following which, the United States (US) had added four top Islamic militants operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan to its list of “global terrorists.”
Funnily, while this was taking place, Paki Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was busy making personal remarks on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Who are TTP fighters?
TTP came to limelight after Pakistan became an important partner of the US following the September 11, 2001 attacks. US forces had killed Al-Qaida founder Osama Bin Laden in May 2011 at his house in Abbottabad.
Though the Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but has association with Afghanistan’s Taliban. The latter is ruling Afghanistan after the US and NATO troops withdrew last year. Both Talibani groups subscribe to the Islamic supremacist ideology.
