BANNU: At least 7 people have been killed and another injured when militants linked to the India-backed proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij attacked office of a local Peace Committee (peace militia) in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to details, the office of Qari Jalil, an affiliate of the Ishaq Group, was attacked by Hafiz Gul Bahadar’s faction of Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan in the Hawaid area of Bannu. The Hafiz Gul Bahadar group, backed by the banned TTP, is reportedly using safe havens in Afghanistan to target Pakistani security forces, police, and those opposing their terrorist agenda.
Security forces reached the area and launched a search operation to track the assailants.
Meanwhile, unknown attackers burned down the empty house of banned TTP commander Abdul Basit Betni, officials said on Friday.
Initial reports indicate that the assailants deliberately set the residence on fire. Although no one was inside at the time and there were no casualties, the house was completely reduced to ashes.
Pakistan’s military killed 72 Khawarij terrorists in a series of intelligence-based operations in Bannu and other districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 15 to 19, official statements said. The operations targeted India-backed Fitna al-Khawarij, a label Pakistan uses for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
