PESHAWAR: Two suspected militants, including an alleged mastermind behind attacks on Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel, were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police said on Friday.

KP police and CTD personnel carried out the operation in the Domel area of Bannu district following an intelligence tip-off about the presence of militants who were wanted in several “terrorism” cases.

Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP in recent years. Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.

“Among those killed was Rashideen alias Malang Yar, the mastermind behind the attack that martyred four brave CTD personnel,” the police said in a statement on Friday.

“A large cache of weapons, hand grenades and identification cards of the banned organization were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorists.”

Aamir Khan, a police spokesman, told Arab News that the four CTD officers were killed in separate attacks by militants in the Bannu district this year.

The police also conducted a search operation in the area to capture any other militants.

Militant attacks across KP have surged since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the TTP and the Pakistani government collapsed.

Earlier in September, a suspected militant commander wanted for bomb attacks and targeted killings of policemen was also killed in an intelligence-based operation in the Lakki Marwat district of KP.

At least 75 policemen were killed in ambushes and targeted attacks in KP last year, according to police data.

Islamabad has frequently accused India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of permitting the use of its soil for attacks in Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.