Two TTP men accused of whipping woman in Swat killed

PESHAWAR: The law-enforcement agencies gunned down two Taliban militants in an intelligence-based operation in the Swat Valley on September 7.

The officials said the two militants were reportedly involved in whipping a woman in Charbagh town in Swat in 2009.

According to security officials, the Pakistan Army and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) jointly conducted the operation in the Fizagat area of Mingora. They said the militants belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were travelling in a car when the security forces killed them in the operation.

The officials said the slain militants were identified as commander Naik Mohammad, known as Naiko, and Umar. Naiko belonged to Mingora city and had reportedly led the Swat whipping team during the earlier stages of the insurgency in the valley.

He was stated to be close to the slain Taliban commander and the-then TTP chief Maulana Fazlullah Khurasani. Maulana Fazlullah was killed in a drone attack in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province.

Over the years, Naik Mohammad masterminded and executed numerous acts of terror against security forces during militancy in this region.

After narrowly escaping the Operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat in 2009, Naik Muhammad fled to Afghanistan along with his family.

However, earlier this year, he secretly returned to Swat with a group of TTP militants and resumed terrorist activities, including targeted killings of police personnel and extortion activities on behalf of the militant network. The sources said that some members of the group that returned from Afghanistan had already been killed by the law-enforcement agencies.

The security officials said that Naik Mohammad and his accomplices had attacked two police constables near the vegetable market in Mingora in June this year.

According to officials, he was plotting to disrupt law and order in Swat through a suicide bombing and improvised explosive device attacks with the aim of targeting the district police officer of Swat.

The said the Pakistan Army, in collaboration with various law-enforcement agencies, remained steadfast in its commitment to root out terrorism from the Swat Valley, and would relentlessly pursue any individual or organization involved in such heinous activities.

The killing of Naik Mohammad was a testament to the fact that the security forces had an unwavering resolve to restore peace and stability in this region, particularly in Swat.