Taliban militants seize police station in north-west Pakistan's Bannu, take hostages
Taliban militants on Sunday seized a police station in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and took hostages, according to media reports.
A Pakistani police official told news agency PTI that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters sneaked into the Bannu cantonment in the restive province and freed imprisoned wanted terrorists. They took control of a section of the compound, holding security personnel belonging to the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) hostage.
“It’s not clear if the terrorists attacked from outside, or if they snatched the ammunition from staff inside” while being interrogated following their arrest, Bannu police spokesman Muhammad Naseeb told Reuters.
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Hostage situation
A hostage situation is underway at the CTD installation, police said. Pakistan Army troops were immediately deployed and compound was surrounded by security forces.
According to News18 report quoting local sources, six-seven TTP fighters came to the CTD station, freed their inmate fighters, who were brought in for interrogation, and took control of the building while taking 15-20 hostages. The TTP fighters are well equipped, said sources.
Special assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, said the situation is under control.
In a video released by the Taliban militants from inside the CTD compound, they claimed that nine police personnel are under captivity and demanded safe passage to Afghanistan by air in order to release the hostages.
Earlier attack
The incident took place hours after militants attacked a police station in Lakki Marwat bordering the South Waziristan tribal district early Sunday morning, leaving four policemen dead and as many injured, according to a PTI report.
Last month, the TTP called off a ceasefire agreed upon with the Pakistan government in June and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.
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Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the entire nation saluted the ‘huge sacrifices’ of police officers and soldiers in their fight against terrorism. He said that ‘terrorists were the open enemies’ of Pakistan. “Those who have been shielding the nation against terrorists are our heroes,” said a statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office.
(With Agency inputs)
