Pakistan: 2 suspected militants killed as police foil terror attack bid in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan's police killed two suspected militants during a raid in Peshawar, foiling a major terror plot. Weapons and a suicide vest were recovered. The suicide bomber, traced from Afghanistan, was wanted for months. Attacks in Pakistan rose slightly in May

Peshawar: Two suspected militants were killed when police foiled a major terror attack bid in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an official said on Monday.

The counter terrorism department (CTD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police eliminated the terrorists during an overnight intelligence-based operation in Peshawar city’s Urmar Payan neighbourhood, once home to one of the largest Afghan refugee camps, the official said.

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The CTD said the suspects, a suicide bomber and the handler, were planning a large-scale attack on a sensitive target in the city when its team carried out the raid.

A significant cache of weapons, ammunition, a suicide vest, an SMG rifle, a pistol, and several rounds of live ammunition were recovered from their possession, the official said. He said Munir Ahmed, the suicide bomber, was being traced by intelligence services since November last year.

The CTD official said Ahmed was a wanted fugitive from Nangarhar in Afghanistan and had crossed into Pakistan from Khost. The official said a special investigation team was formed to probe the matter.

According to Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), Pakistan saw a 5 per cent increase in attacks in May in comparison to April even as militancy in the country largely remained contained despite the regional geopolitical climate.

The PICSS said in its monthly security assessment, May recorded 85 militant attacks, a marginal rise from 81 in April, killing 113 people, including 52 security forces personnel, 46 civilians, 11 militants, and four members of peace committees. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the most affected provinces, accounting for 82 of the 85 attacks in Pakistan.