The first mentions of trouble with the Taliban in the region of Shah Hassan Khel date from early 2007, with extremists taking six hostages at a marriage party and beating up a group of singers. After the 2007 Siege of Lal Masjid, Taliban militants took first control of the Shah Hassan Khel mosque, and soon of the whole village. When Pakistan security forces tried to expunge the militants from the village in the summer of 2009, the village became a ghost town for three months, with all villagers fleeing to other villages close by. After the operation was successfully ended and 24 militants were captured by the Pakistani forces, the villagers returned and organised a "lashkar", a village militia to defend themselves and prevent the return of the Taliban. This worked, despite a volunteer of the militia being killed in a skirmish.