TTP cell involved in Islamabad suicide attack busted

ISLAMABAD: Security forces have dismantled a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist cell involved in a recent suicide attack in Islamabad that claimed 12 lives and injured several others, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

In a joint operation conducted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), four members of the TTP/Fitna al-Khawarij network linked to the suicide bombing at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad’s G-11 sector were apprehended, the Government of Pakistan said.

During interrogation, Sajidullah alias Sheena, the handler of the suicide bomber, confessed that TTP/FAK Commander Saeed-ur-Rehman alias Daadullah—a resident of Charmang, Bajaur, currently in Afghanistan and serving as TTP’s Intelligence Chief for Nawagai, Bajaur—had contacted him through the Telegram application to carry out a suicide attack in Islamabad to cause maximum casualties of LEAs.

Daadullah sent pictures of the suicide bomber, Usman alias Qari, to Sheena for receiving him.

The bomber Usman Qari belonged to the Shinwari tribe and was a resident of Achin, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. When he reached Pakistan from Afghanistan, Sheena arranged his stay in a residence near Islamabad.

Following Afghanistan-based Commander Daadullah’s instructions, Sajidullah Sheena collected a suicide jacket from Akhun Baba graveyard in Peshawar and brought it to Islamabad.

On the day of the blast at Judicial Complex G-11, Sajidullah Sheena set the suicide jacket on bomber Usman alias Qari.

According to the statement, the network was handled and guided at every step by the TTP high command based in Afghanistan.

The entire cell involved in the incident, including its commander and three other members, has been arrested. Investigations are continuing, and more revelations and arrests are expected, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the federal government decided to ban the entry of vehicles without electronic tags (E-tags) into Islamabad.

Minister of State for Interior Senator Talal Chaudhry announced the series of new security restrictions in the federal capital on Thursday while addressing a press conference outside Parliament, accompanied by IG Islamabad Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon.

Talal Chaudhry said the government will launch a “Secure Neighborhood Survey” — the first of its kind — to enhance public safety and ensure a more secure Islamabad.