PESHAWAR: According to War Monitor, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said in a statement on October 15 that it was responsible for killing a senior Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) official in Peshawar. These are the group's claims and have not been independently verified.
War Monitor reported that the TTP identified the man as Riaz Akhtar and claimed he was a Special Services Group (SSG) captain serving as director of the ANF's Faisalabad region. The group said the incident took place around midnight on October 14 in Peshawar's PDA area.
War Monitor later reported that the TTP released a video purportedly showing the killing, with the group's claims also linking Akhtar to CTD Mianwali. War Monitor said the footage, the reported dual appointments and the circumstances of the killing had not been independently verified.
According to War Monitor, the TTP also claimed it struck a military post in the Sardi Khel area of Baka Khel, Bannu, with a quadcopter-dropped explosive on the morning of October 15. In a separate statement, the group claimed a grenade attack on a police post in the Sepan area of Badaber, Peshawar, at about 11 p.m. on October 14. It suggested possible casualties in both incidents but gave no confirmed figures.
Police, the ANF and the military have not so far issued public statements on the incidents or casualties, and the claims have not been confirmed by major national outlets.
PEMRA recently directed TV channels to air only information verified by law enforcement agencies when covering terrorist attacks.