KHYBER: Police were placed on high alert throughout the Khyber district while additional checkposts were established on different routes after receipt of secret information about possible attacks from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on different police stations.

Sources in Tirah said TTP had prepared at least three teams each comprising 10 fighters under the collective command of commander Abuzar with two groups assigned the task of carrying out attacks in parts of Tirah, while the third was dispatched to Bara for possible attacks on Meelwat and Bara police stations.

It was also learnt that TTP commander for Akkakhel area in Tirah issued a warning to local shepherds to desist from bringing their cattle for grazing in the hills as they suspected some shepherds were allegedly spying on them for security forces and passing information about their secret movements.

The TTP affiliates, sources in the region said had conveyed a message that they would avenge the killing of some of their colleagues in a recent intelligence-based operation in Tirah.

Upon receipt of the security alert, police in Bara and other parts of Khyber have intensified their checking of suspected vehicles and motorcycles with establishment of additional checkpoints.

Police have also begun a crackdown on vehicles with tinted glass, while police patrolling has also been intensified.

In a statement issued from Shah Kas Police Centre, district police officer Saleem Abbas Kulachi said night patrolling of all the entry and exit points was in progress.

Security forces killed at least seven militants during an intelligence-based operation in Tirah, while an FC official and a policeman were martyred in a terror attack on Takhtabeg checkpost in Jamrud on July 1.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2024