LAKKI MARWAT: Police said they killed two suspected militants, including a would-be suicide bomber, during an operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday.
Officers moved to Gandi Chowk after receiving information about a suspicious vehicle. Police said its occupants opened fire as the team approached. Officers returned fire, killing two suspects.
A third man suffered injuries but escaped, prompting a search for him. Police reported recovering weapons, ammunition and a flag associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from the vehicle.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfikar Hameed said the operation had foiled a “large-scale terrorist attempt”.
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Authorities described the suspects as members of Fitna al-Khawarij, the term Pakistan uses for TTP-affiliated militants. Investigators began identifying those killed and examining the suspects’ intended target.
Personnel from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) joined the operation after the gunfight. Last week, a blast at a joint checkpoint near Aman Mela in Dera Ismail Khan killed 12 people and injured 35 others.
The TTP claimed responsibility for that attack. Police reported killing two suspected militants, including an alleged suicide bomber, during an operation in Lakki Marwat on Wednesday, while a third suspect escaped with injuries.
With additional input from Anadolu Agency and the Associated Press of Pakistan