Geolocated: suspected TTP fighters filmed operating checkpoint near Peshawar
Author & Investigator: Sindre Langmoen
On March 10, 2026, a video circulated online reportedly showing members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban) operating a checkpoint at a crossroads in the middle of the day. The location was claimed to be in the Hayatabad suburb of Peshawar, Pakistan.
The footage shows a dozen armed men carrying assault rifles and at least one rocket launcher. One man holds a white flag bearing the Shahada, the flag used by the Taliban. The men stand on the road, speaking to each other and to passing drivers, before a group climbs into the back of a vehicle and departs. Their rush in leaving the location may indicate that this operation primarily served propaganda purposes for the TTP.
Later that day, the X account of Capital City Police Peshawar shared a video showing armed police officers at the same intersection with the caption:
“Khyber Sector: Police Alert Established, Prepared to Handle All Kinds of Situations
In response to a video related to the Khawarij rebels going viral on social media, Khyber Police took swift action by reaching Bypass Dogra Road to ensure security measures were in place.
The process of searching for and monitoring suspicious individuals is ongoing.”
Both videos were geolocated to the intersection of Bara Road and Bara Bypass Road in Khyber District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, approximately 15 km southwest of central Peshawar.
Figure: Geolocation of two videos showing the TTP fighters and Pakistani police officers at the same location.
Coordinates: 33.906058, 71.443125
While Pakistani authorities have sought to project control, the incident raises questions about the extent to which their forces maintain authority in the area.
The TTP has carried out numerous attacks in regions bordering Afghanistan and has intensified its operations in recent years. As part of its spring offensive, dubbed Operation “Khyber,” in just 24 hours on 6-7 March 2026, the group reportedly conducted 31 attacks across multiple districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
This incident occurred amid the escalating conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan - the most severe fighting in years - which Pakistan’s defence minister recently described as an “open war.” Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering the TTP, and of allowing it to operate from Afghanistan - a claim the Afghan Taliban denies.
The conflict has already exceeded the duration of the previous round of hostilities between 9 and 19 October 2025, which ended in a ceasefire after dozens of casualties on both sides, including 37 Afghan civilians killed and thousands of civilians displaced.
The current escalation began on 21 February 2026 and has continued for nearly three weeks. The United Nations says it has recorded at least 75 civilians killed and 193 wounded since the fighting began, while the Taliban claims more than 110 civilians have been killed. According to the UN, some 115,000 civilians have been displaced in Afghanistan, and some 3,000 in Pakistan.
