Home Latest News TTP Claims Responsibility for Bombing in Swat

TTP Claims Responsibility for Bombing in Swat

Six people, including former peace committee leader and two policemen, killed in remote-controlled detonation

by Staff Report

File photo of Idrees Khan

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility on Tuesday of a bombing in Swat that left six people dead, including a former peace committee leader and two policemen.

According to a statement issued by the banned group, it targeted the group because the former peace committee head, Idrees Khan, had been on its hitlist for over a decade. Local media said he had been a prominent leader among those resisting the Taliban when they looked set to take over Swat in 2007. He had survived multiple threats to his life in the past, they added.

The bombing targeted a vehicle in the Ghlo Kandaw area of Swat’s Kabal tehsil. It was reportedly carrying four people—Idrees Khan, his police guards, and a child—who all died on the spot. The two remaining deaths due to the bombing were among pedestrians who were passing by at the time of the blast.

The TTP’s claim reflects persistent fears among residents of Swat that the militant group is staging a comeback thanks to the space provided by ongoing “peace talks” between it and the government. Thousands of local residents have been protesting the return of militancy in the region for several months, demanding authorities ensure the peace and stability earned through military operations is not reversed.

Last month, the government negotiated a suspension to the demonstrations, with police also issuing a statement claiming there was no truth to a resurgence of the TTP in Swat. Since the militants’ return—with locals saying many of them had been hiding in Afghanistan—there has been growing anger over the so-called “peace talks,” with protesters maintaining that this is little more than an excuse to allow the TTP to regain a foothold in the region.

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