15 kidnapped FC troops killed to avenge colleagues’ killing: TTP

15 kidnapped FC troops killed to avenge colleagues’ killing: TTP

Saleem Mehsud

PESHAWAR, Jan 05: The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed on Thursday to have killed 15 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, who were kidnapped from Mullazai Fort in Tank on Dec 23, to avenge the killing of their colleagues in Landikotal.

According to pamphlets distributed by the Taliban to the media,it was stated that on Jan 01, the security forces of Pakistan killed TTP fighters, one woman and also arrested women and five infants in Kramana area of Landikotal tehsil in Khyber Agency during a military operation.

Taliban questioned the officials of Pakistani government, saying that if officials were declaring Rashid Hussain, 29 years old son of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, as infant, then how the five infants arrested by the security forces during operation in Landikotal can be declared militants.

Sending the “New Year gift” to the government of Pakistan, TTP killed the 15 kidnapped FC personnel to avenge the killing of their colleagues.

It was also stated in the pamphlet that it was the beginning, and the government should wait for more turbulent news, adding that video of the kidnapped FC personnel’s killing would be released in the coming days to teach a lesson to “infidels and their friends.”

Later on, during telephonic calls from undisclosed location to various reporters, the TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan claimed to have killed all the 15 kidnapped FC personnel, saying that their bodies were dumped near Shawa area of North Waziristan Agency.

“The FC personnel were killed as a consequence of an operation by security forces in Khyber Agency,” the spokesman said.

Sources said that Qari Kamran, a top TTP commander, was reportedly killed along with 12 other militants, while some women and children were also taken into custody by the security forces during the operation in the Karmana area of Landikotal.

Security officials, confirming the information of the dead bodies, did not comment further on the identities or the number of soldiers killed.

In a written statement, the TTP said: “It was against Pashtoon tradition and culture that the women and children had been taken by security forces into custody during operation.”

On Dec 22, 2011, fighters of the TTP disguised in Frontier Constabulary uniform, armed with sophisticated weapons overrun Mullazai Fort manned by FC personnel, killing one personnel and kidnapped 15 others besides setting the fort on fire.

Officials earlier disclosed that kidnapped soldiers were identified as Sobedar Bawar Khan, Naib Sobedar Alia Mir, Havaldars Jan Afzal, Badshah Khan, Naik Zabtha Khan, Lance Naik Nisar Gul, soldiers Muhammad Aslam, Khan Talab, Shafiur Rehman, Shakeel Gul, Talif Khan, Rahid Khan, Amjad Ali, and Muhammad Arif. Law enforcement agencies launched repeated raids to recover the missing FC personnel but failed to rescue the abductees which finally met their fate according to the claim of TTP.

The killing of 15 FC personnel also negates the media hype that Pakistani Taliban have declared to stop war against the Pakistani forces on the directives of Mullah Omar who asked the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups to stop toppling their own governments rather enhance support to the Afghan Taliban to accelerate war against the US led Nato forces.