Pak Ends Bannu Siege: Militants, Incl Six From The Army CTD, Taliban Says, “More To Come”

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday lifted the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban’s siege at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Bannu Cantonment Center in the restive northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All militants were killed.

Six members of the troops were killed and seven were injured during the operation, , a search and sweeping operation is currently being carried out in the Bannu CTD compound.

In the meantime, the TTP asserted that their activity in the Bannu Cantonment Center was productive. “Allah alone is to thank for our victory. Since they are brothers, we won’t target Pakistan’s defenceless populace, the TTP declared in a statement.

They further stated that “the Pakistan Army and its supporting forces, including FC, Police, and LEAs, were their exclusive objective.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, militants attacked a police station in Wana, South Waziristan. The intensity and frequency of attacks are increasing in Pakhtunkhwa, where there have been four significant incidents in the last three days.

The TTP said on November 28 that they had cancelled the truce reached with the government in June and had instructed fighters to carry out their jihad all over the nation.

During Friday prayers in Jalalabad city and the surrounding Ningarhar provincial districts, the TTP was openly soliciting donations inside mosques, “The money is being raised in the name of jihad against the Pakistani State and the Pakistan Army.”

Bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, the TTP is a violent organisation that is outlawed. On Pakistani security officers, it has carried out a number of significant attacks. Following many rounds of discussions, the Pakistani government and the TTP decided to extend a ceasefire indefinitely while continuing talks to put an end to the organization’s nearly two decades of insurgency in June.

A number of militant organisations came together to form the TTP in 2007. Its primary objective is to spread its rigorous brand of Islam throughout Pakistan. The organisation, which is thought to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, has been charged with carrying out a number of violent acts across Pakistan, including an attack on the Army headquarters in 2009, robberies at military installations, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

Despite fierce opposition from its neighbour, Pakistan has been fencing the 2,600-km border with Afghanistan since 2017 to stop terrorist infiltration and smuggling. In addition to building a barrier, the project calls for building border posts and forts as well as creating new Frontier Corps wings to help guard the border.

Last year, when the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan, Pakistan anticipated the new administration would deal with the terrorist organisations.