3 terrorists killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Security forces gunned down three terrorists, including an Afghan national, during an operation in Pakistan’s northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa late Friday night, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said.

Two among the three terrorists killed were involved in a suicide bombing in Peshawar which led to the deaths of a sub-inspector and a constable.

The intelligence-based operation (IBO) was conducted in Khyber district bordering Afghanistan, according to the statement of the department.

The department conducted an IBO based on the reported presence of Fazal Noor, a commander of the banned militant Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and his group members in Ali Masjid area of the district.

Militants opened fire on the team that reached the spot and then an exchange of fire continued for around 30 minutes.

The CTD said a search operation was launched after the firing stopped and the SWAT team found three dead bodies who were later identified as Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Karim, residents of Karak, and Noor Nabi, a resident of Nangarhar in Afghanistan, affiliated with the ISKP.

Fazal Noor and a few other escaped during the exchange of fire, the statement added.