Pakistan launches operation to free officers held by Taliban

By RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Security officials say Pakistan’s special forces have launched an operation to free several security officers who were taken hostage by a group of detained Pakistani Taliban militants following a two-day standoff. On Sunday, detainees from the Pakistani Taliban militant group — also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — overpowered their guards at a counter-terrorism center in the remote northwest district of Bannu. The officials told the AP that troops on Tuesday stormed the center after talks failed with the hostage takers. No military or government spokespersons were immediately available for comment.