According to officials on Monday, a number of Pakistani Taliban detainees overpowered their guards at a counter-terrorism center in northwestern Pakistan overnight, stealing police weapons, taking hostages, and taking control of the facility. PESHAWAR, Pakistan
The incident broke out in the late afternoon of Sunday and quickly turned into a standoff. Later, Pakistani officials confirmed that the takeover of the detention center in B-A N U, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that was once part of a tribal region, resulted in the death of one counterterrorism officer.
The hostage crisis was still going on 12 hours after the police and military rushed to send troops and special forces to the area. Officials say that the takeover involved at least 30 Taliban fighters and possibly as many as ten hostages.
The brazen act demonstrated the government's inability to exert control over the remote area near the Afghanistan U S border. While the Afghan Taliban seized power in the neighboring nation last year as U S and NATO troops were in the final stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban are also allied with the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban are a distinct group.
Mohammad Ali S-A-I F, a provincial government spokesman, claimed that the takeover occurred while police were questioning Taliban detainees. Little else was known about the event.
According to S-A-I F, the location was surrounded and authorities were attempting to negotiate with the hostages. He said that an operation was going on, but he didn't go into detail.
According to a number of security officials, the negotiations were helped along by several relatives of the Taliban insurgents. Because they were not permitted to speak with reporters, they spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the officials, there were also some soldiers among the hostages. If negotiations failed, there were concerns that the military might storm the facility. The hostage-takers made a video message that went viral on social media and stated that if the officers were not allowed safe passage, they would kill them.
According to a number of security officials, the negotiations were helped along by several relatives of the Taliban insurgents. Because they were not permitted to speak with reporters, they spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the officials, there were also some soldiers among the hostages. If negotiations failed, there were concerns that the military might storm the facility. The hostage-takers made a video message that went viral on social media and stated that if the officers were not allowed safe passage, they would kill them
According to Khurasani, TTP fighters were requesting safe passage to North or South W-A Z-I R-I S T-A N, Taliban strongholds that were declared free of insurgents following a series of military offensives over the past few years. Since the Pakistani Taliban unilaterally ended a months-long cease-fire with the Pakistani government last month, they have increased their attacks on security forces.
Over the course of the past 15 years, the TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan, fighting for the release of their members who are held by the government, a reduction in the Pakistani military's presence in the country's former tribal regions, and stricter Islamic law enforcement. Also on Monday, a roadside bombing in tense W-A Z-I R-I S T-A N killed at least two people passing by a security convoy, according to police
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