Pakistani Taliban claim killing ‘hundreds’ in first report

The Pakistani Taliban has released its first annual report, claiming it killed hundreds of people in 2015, with analysts suggesting its “inflated” figures illustrate the jihadists’ struggle to demonstrate their capability as security improves.

The report, written in Urdu, is a detailed list of attacks carried out on security forces, police and politicians in several Pakistani cities and the northwestern tribal areas between January 3 and December 26.

Released on December 29, the report says that in 2015 the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) carried out 73 target killings, 12 ambush attacks, 10 raids, 19 IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts, five suicide attacks, 17 missile attacks and shot down two helicopters, and claims it killed some 686 people in 2015.

Claims by the TTP are often exaggerated. In the report, for example, it claims that it killed 247 people in an attack on Peshawar’s Badaber Air Force base in September. The official death toll was 29.

“This report mostly carries big claims, but there is no evidence to support these claims which are often inflated,” said Pakistani analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai.

“They have realised that this kind of report is necessary to show people that they are still active and potent,” Yousafzai said.