Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered an FIR of terrorists attack at Peshawar Agriculture Directorate, in which nine people were martyred and dozens injured. CCTV videos from various locations have also been gathered. The authorities have also sent body parts of killed terrorists to Lahore for DNA testing. Terrorists on Friday morning attacked the student hostel inside the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on University Road, Peshawar.
The security forces later managed to kill all the terrorists after a gunfight which lasted over an hour. According to a statement, issued by CTD, the FIR was registered against unknown terrorists in police station of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). The clauses regarding lift attempt and attack on police and 7 ATA were also included in the FIR.
The CTD also started investigation into the attack and sent body parts of the alleged terrorists to Lahore Forensic laboratory for DNA tests.
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested two alleged terrorists during a raid in Peshawar on Saturday. According to reports, the CTD carried out raid in Nasirbagh area of Peshawar and arrested two terrorists. The CTD also recovered 500 grams explosive materials and a pistol from the arrested terrorists, who belong to a banned militants group.
Meanwhile, the Police and other security forces have arrested nine suspects during search operation in outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday. According to reports, the operation was carried out in Badhber, Telaband and other areas outside the provincial capital. The arms of different types including three pistols, 8mm rifles, 12-bore rifles, sub-machine guns (SMG) and a large quantity of ammo were also recovered from the arrested suspects.
The arrested suspects were shifted to police stations for interrogation. The security forces searched at least 45 houses during the search operation. In terrorists' attack on a student hostel inside the Directorate of Agriculture (Extension) on busy University Road, Peshawar on Friday morning, nine people including six students were killed and more than two dozen wounded injured in.
The security forces later managed to kill all the terrorists after a gunfight which lasted over an hour. According to SSP Operations Sajjad Khan that five attackers wearing suicide jackets reached the compound in a rickshaw. They were said to be wearing burqas in the rickshaw so as to avoid detection. The police official said the attackers' first target was the security guard of the premises, following which they made their way inside towards the students' hostel of the Agriculture Training Institute. "They could have wreaked havoc but the police and army successfully neutralized the threat," he said further.
Later, army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor praised the police performance during the operation. Speaking to a private news channel, Major General Ghafoor said the terrorists were in contact with their partners in Afghanistan throughout the attack. He, however, put the number of killed terrorists at three. The police and army immediately reached the site and launched an operation to clear the area. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also on site.
Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Tahir Khan and SSP Operations Sajjad Khan were leading the operation. Intermittent gunfire and blasts could be heard from inside the premises throughout the operation. Later, during the combing operation, authorities recovered suicide jackets, two Kalashnikovs, pistols, and explosives from the possession of deceased terrorists. The explosives and suicide jackets were disposed of later in a controlled explosion by the bomb disposal unit.
Speaking to media Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, IG Salahuddin Khan Mehsud said fortunately not many students were present due to the long weekend, adding that police APCs evacuated around a dozen students from the hostel. University Road, the major artery of the city, was closed down for traffic after the incident and reopened around noon. The injured were shifted to three different hospitals including the adjacent Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and Combined Military Hospital (CMH). The management of the hospital had confirmed the receiving of 21 injured and three bodies. Six injured have already been discharged from the hospital while two injured military personnel were referred to CMH and one civilian to Police Services Hospital.
Federal government has announced a compensation of Rs 1 million for the heirs of the each died person while injured will receive an amount of Rs0.5 million. "We were sleeping when it started," told an eye-witness and added that he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, around 8:15 A.M. He said that he and his colleagues ran as fast as they could but two of their colleagues were injured in the firing. "We took them out with us and admitted them to the hospital," said Ariful Haq, adding that around 120 students live in the hostel but most had gone home due to the long weekend. He added that the students who board at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences.