PESHAWAR, (Raja Furqan Ahmed) : Four militants and three detainees were killed in the exchange of fire when a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) squad came under attack in the North Waziristan tribal area, a spokesperson of the law enforcement agency said on Tuesday. The official said that the CTD personnel were transporting three detainees from Miranshah to Bannu when they were ambushed by the terrorists near Mir Ali Bypass during which the captives and four of the attackers were killed. The spokesperson added that the attackers wanted to free their accomplices. It said the slain terrorists were also wanted by law enforcers in a number of heinous crimes. “The terrorists were involved in the targeted killings of security personnel. They were also involved in the killing of constable Iftikhar,” the CTD said. Four sub-machine guns, cartridges and other ammunition were recovered from the terrorists. A clearance operation was underway in the area to look for the fleeing terrorists, the statement added. Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also in Balochistan and the Punjab town of Mianwali, which borders KP. After calling off the ceasefire, TTP and other splinter groups of militants have escalated attacks on forces. Lately, the group threatened to attack top leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) who discussed action against the TTP at a recent meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC).
