5 terrorists killed, cop martyred in Peshawar shootout

ISLAMABAD: Five terrorists were killed as security forces and police wrapped up a 17-hour joint intelligence-based operation inside a three-storey residential compound in the posh Peshawar locality of Hayatabad on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted by Pakistan Army and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police in Hayatabad Phase-VII, Peshawar, against a terrorist hideout. The operation started on Monday night in which five terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire. An assistant sub-inspector of police, Qamar Alam, was martyred, while an officer and a soldier were injured. Alam’s funeral prayers were held in Peshawar.

State media said Alam was martyred in the initial stages of the operation. It was carried out at the Hayatabad compound after police received information about the presence of some six-to-seven terrorists inside the compound. Soon after, a police party — accompanied by security forces — rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. The terrorists immediately started shooting at the police party, which resulted in the martyrdom of the policeman.

The operation continued until 12.30pm on Tuesday. SSP Operation Peshawar Zahoor Afridi told reporters: “The operation has been successfully completed as all the terrorists were killed and the compound was cleared.”

Peshawar city police chief, Qazi Jamil-ur-Rehman, also confirmed the entire compound was cleared and the situation was under control. He told reporters that militants opened fire on security forces with automatic guns, and also used mortars and hand grenades. He added investigators were working to identify the militants.

During the clearance operation, security personnel discovered an explosives-laden motorcycle which was neutralised by bomb-disposal squad.

The entire three-storey building was blown apart. Video footage by an AFP reporter at the scene shows the building collapsing in the blast, with a cloud of dust and debris rising from the fallen structure.

Officials said the militants — who have not yet been identified — had used the building as a hideout. Shafqat Malik, chief of Peshawar’s bomb disposal squad, told AFP the militants had planted a motorcycle bomb at the gate of the building, and linked it to more than 50 kilogrammes of explosives throughout the structure.

Officers from the bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled detonation of the motorcycle device, Malik said, triggering the explosives inside and bringing the building crashing down. In the moments before the explosion in the video footage, bullet holes can be seen across the building’s facade.

The terror suspects were wanted for attacks on an inspector-general of police and judicial officers, security sources said.Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood visited the site of the operation and lauded the professionalism of the security personnel. Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in a brief chat with reporters said security forces took timely action against terrorists and successfully eliminated them.