Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that “all the terrorists” who had taken hostages at a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) centre in Bannu were killed as the operation concluded.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, Khawaja Asif said the minister said 10-15 soldiers had been injured and two martyred after the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group (SSG) launched an operation earlier today.
“By 2:30pm, the SSG had cleared the compound. All the hostages have been freed,” the minister said. The minister also said that the militants were not part of one group, rather they belonged to different banned outfits.
He said that there were 33 arrested terrorists inside the compound and one of them had managed to snatch a gun from an employee after hitting him in the head with a brick.
Terrorists affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan (TTP) were involved in the incident and in a bid to end the standoff, the Pakistani government initiated talks with the militant group's leadership.
The defence minister criticised PTI Chairman Imran Khan and called the incident a “total collapse” of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. “The unfortunate aspect of this is that terrorism is again making strides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” he said.
Late Sunday, the militants held in the CTD centre took control of the building and took a number of law enforcers hostage. They had demanded safe passage to Afghanistan.
