December 20, 2022, Pakistani security forces on Tuesday retook control of a counter-terrorism interrogation center in the northwestern city of Bannu, where a group of officers was being held hostage by fighters from the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, all 33 hostage-takers were killed in a clearance operation in which two special forces troops also died.
“All the hostages have been freed,” the Pakistani minister said. “Ten to 15 men from the SSG [special forces] including an officer were wounded while two were martyred.”
Talks failed
The operation came after the detainees, who were held for years at the center in Bannu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, overpowered their guards on Sunday, seized their weapons and took them hostage.
On Monday, one officer at the center was reported killed by the hostage-takers.
The operation was launched after negotiations with Pakistani Taliban leaders to end the hostage situation failed to yield a breakthrough.
According to a provincial government spokesman, the militants had demanded safe passage to Afghanistan.
Source- Deutsche Welle
