UPDATE - Pakistani forces take back control of militant-held police station in NW Pakistan

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By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistani security forces on Tuesday killed "all" suspected militants who took control of a counter-terrorism facility and held several personnel hostages for the past three days in the country's northwest province, officials and local media reported.

“At 12:30 p.m. (local time) the SSG (special services group of Pakistan army) launched an operation against terrorists. All the terrorists have been killed in the Bannu operation,” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told the lower house – National Assembly –, referring to the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the facility was seized by suspected militants.

At least two security personnel were killed and another 15 injured in the operation, the minister said, adding that all the hostages have been "safely" rescued.

He, however, did not specify the number of the militants killed in the hours-long operation, saying: "There were 31 detained terrorists, and one of them snatched a weapon from a security personnel."

However, the military’s mouthpiece Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement: “The operation is successfully underway at the CTD office Bannu and is going to be completed soon.”

The operation, according to a senior security official who requested anonymity, was launched after a series of talks with the suspected militants "failed" over the past three days.

On Sunday, a group of militants loyal to outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who were detained and being interrogated at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) facility in Bannu, overpowered the interrogators and took over a portion of the police station located inside a heavily-fortified cantonment area.

At least one security official was killed and two others were injured in a shootout between militants and security forces stationed around the seized compound.

On Tuesday, the security forces increased their presence around the compound, while all educational institutions in the district were closed before they launched the decisive operation.

Footage aired on local broadcaster Geo News showed plumes of fire and thick smoke wafting upwards.

Mohammad Khurrasani, a purported TTP spokesman, in a statement, claimed that the clash between the two sides is still "underway" as the security forces, according to him, have so far failed to re-capture the compound.

He claimed that some 20 security personnel have been "killed or injured" in the clash.

- Fresh attacks

The militants demanded a "safe passage" to the tribal districts of North and South Waziristan.

The government, for its part, rejected the demand, calling on them to "lay down arms."

Muhammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, in a statement said the government will not accept the militants’ demands, warning them of "stern" action if they do not lay down their arms.

Suspected militants also stormed another police station late Monday night in Wana, the headquarters of the restive South Waziristan tribal district, which is also the TTP's birthplace.

Farhan Khan, the district police chief, told reporters that around 50 heavily armed militants stormed the police station and briefly took control of the compound.

However, they fled when reinforcements of police and paramilitary troops arrived on the scene.

At least, one fleeing attacker was killed and a policeman was injured in an exchange of fire, he added.

Another attack on a police checkpoint was reported in the Ghicha area of the same tribal district, which was also repulsed, local broadcaster Geo News reported, citing security officials.

The latest attacks are the aftermath of rescinding a fragile cease-fire between Pakistani security forces and the TTP, which could last only a few months. Both sides blame each other for the breach of the agreement.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks from the Afghan side of the border, following the Taliban's storming back to power in Kabul in August last year.

Islamabad has been urging the Taliban to live up to their commitments to rein in terrorist groups and not to allow them to use Afghan soil as a launch pad for attacks.