A notorious militant commander was killed along with his accomplice during an encounter with police in the Azakhel area of Nowshera in the early hours of Sunday.
A police official said that Taliban commander Farooq was attempting to enter his native Nowshehra district to carry out sabotage activities.
The Police Crime Investigation Department (CID) acted on a tip-off regarding the militants’ plans, and tightened security along Nowshehra’s boundaries with the frontier regions of Peshawar. Both Farooq and his accomplice were stopped by the police while they were entering Nowshehra. Police said the militants were asked to surrender, but they started shooting at the police. Both the militants were killed in retaliatory fire, police said. Senior officials have also confirmed Farooq’s death along his accomplice Mati-ur-Rehman and called it a “big achievement”.
A police official said that Farooq was regarded as one of the most dangerous militant commanders in the area, and had been involved in several acts of terrorism.
Separately, the dead bodies of two out of five persons abducted from the outskirts of Peshawar a couple of days ago were found dumped in the Badhabher area on Sunday morning. A police official said that the killed persons were identified as the driver and police guard of Bannu District Revenue Officer Sajid Nawaz. Three persons are still missing. On September 19, Sajid Nawaz and his five colleagues were abducted from Darwazgai area, which connects Peshawar with Dara Adam Khel. Sajid Nawaz was recovered on next day, but the remaining employees are still missing.
Meanwhile, a leading tribal elder from South Waziristan, Malik Fateh Sher Mehsud, was shot dead by unidentified militants in Tank on Sunday morning. Mehsud had migrated to Tank along with his relatives a couple of years ago. He had been supporting the civilian and military administration in the ongoing war on terror.
