LAHORE JULY 26 (TNS): a new militant network, an offshoot of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was responsible for Monday’s Lahore blast, law enforcement agencies identified on Wednesday.
A senior police officer told that the suicide attack near the Arfa Karim IT Tower was the first deadly assault by the Taliban Special Group (TSG), which comprised highly trained suicide attackers (fidayeen commandos).
He said earlier attacks in the provincial capital, including the one on The Mall, had been claimed by Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the TTP based in Afghanistan.
The United States had placed the JuA on its list of specially designated global terrorists last year for staging multiple attacks targeting civilians, religious minorities, military personnel and law enforcement agencies.
“The emergence of the TSG has raised concerns among law enforcement agencies, who are viewing it as an emerging new challenge. The TSG commandos have been trained to carry out massive and deadly attacks,” he said.
