9 held as police begin probe into Peshawar terror attack
peshawar — A day after 12 people were killed in an attack on the Agriculture Training Institute here, nine suspects were arrested from different areas of Peshawar in a search operation conducted by police and paramilitary officials, a police official said.
The operation was carried out in a bid to maintain peace, he said and added that all nine suspects had been shifted to a police station for interrogation.
The operation started at around mid-night after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of suspects in their hideouts.
The operation was carried out in Badhber, Telaband and some areas outside the provincial capital. Arms, including three pistols, 8mm rifles, 12-bore rifles, sub-machine guns (SMG) and a large quantity of bullets were also recovered from the suspects. The security forces searched at least 45 houses during the search operation.
A case was filed on behalf of the Counter Terrorism Department while the first information report included sections related to murder, terrorism and the possession of explosives, the Express News reported.
At least 12 people were killed on Friday when three militants attacked the institute. The dead include six students. The authorities have closed the institute for an indefinite period.
More than 32 people — among them a police sub-inspector and two soldiers — were also wounded in the assault claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP).
The bodies of the militants still languish in the mortuary.
DNA samples from their bodies have been collected for their identification.
We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack
Enemies want to destabilise the nation: Ahsan
Heather Nauert, US official
Meanwhile, the US on Saturday strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Peshawar in which at least 12 people, including six students, were killed.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
“We stand with the people and Government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism,” she said in a statement. — APP, IANS, PTI