CTD arrests key al-Qaeda leader in Punjab

LAHORE: Security forces on Friday said they had arrested a key leader of al-Qaeda during an intelligence-based operation in Punjab.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said in a statement it had arrested Aminul Haq, a close aid of Osama bin Laden, who was killed by the United States Army in Abbottabad in 2011.

The arrest comes days after a terrorist attack at a rural health center in Dera Ismail Khan claimed the lives of five civilians and two security personnel.

“On night 15/16 July 24, terrorists carried out a cowardly attack on Rural Health Center (RHC), Kirri Shamozai in Dera Ismail Khan District and opened indiscriminate fire on RHC staff,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

The firing led to the deaths of two lady health workers, two children and a watchmen, the military’s media wing said, adding that security forces carried out a retaliatory drive, killing three terrorists while losing two security personnel to fire exchange.