Target killer of 32 people arrested in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has arrested an alleged target killer involved in killing of at least 32 persons, including 15 policemen.

The CTD officials said the alleged killer, Mohammad Farid, was arrested during a raid in Qazi Killay.The officials said the accused is said to be having links with the terrorist organization Daesh which he had joined recently.

“The man was known in different groups by five different names. He has confessed to involvement in at least 32 target killing incidents, 15 of which were policemen,” CTD Senior Superintendent of Police Mian Mohammad Saeed said. He said the arrested terrorist was also involved in slaughtering five women in two different incidents and throwing their bodies in rivers.

The CTD officials said the held man was trained in Afghanistan in 2008 to carry out attacks in Pakistan. They added that Farid was involved in robberies and dacoities as well to generate funds for his terrorist activities.

“Besides, he was involved in calls for extortion and planting bombs in places sited
in the jurisdiction of Faqirabad, Paharipura and Khazana police stations,” said an official. The CTD officials said one of his brothers had been held in Afghanistan while another was killed in an encounter in recent years.

The arrest is considered to be a major achievement as Qazi Killay and some other areas in Peshawar district witnessed the worst target killing incidents in recent years. Several security personnel and others became victims of these attacks.

Meanwhile the bomb disposal unit defused an explosive device weighing three kilograms and planted in a graveyard on the Charsadda Road.Locals informed the police after spotting the bomb. The BDU experts were called and they defused the explosive device.