TTP Malakand division commander killed in Kunar

KHYBER-PAKHTUNKHAWA:

Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Malakand division commander Talha Swati was killed in Asadabad district of Afghanistan’s Kunar province, sources confirmed on Saturday.

Swati – associated with Fazal Ullah group belonged to Swat. He was killed at noon after the Friday prayer.

The TTP commander was linked to the intelligence group and worked as intelligence chief in Barikot district.

According to reports, the slain terrorist reported Jammat Ul Ahrar’s activities to the Taliban in the Southern District, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and his close aide Noor Wali Mehsud.

There was conflicting information about the commander’s death. Some reports said that he was killed by the ISKP, while others said that he was killed by a rival faction due to some internal rifts.

The Swati group, after the commander’s death, demanded punishment for the killers.

Reading TTP confirms killing of senior commander in clashes in Waziristan

Earlier this month, a wanted commander of the outlawed TTP was among three terrorists killed in two separate encounters with security forces in KP’s Khyber and North Waziristan districts.

The commander, identified as Hazrat Ali alias Gaga, was killed in a ground attack by the army in Tirah Valley of Khyber district. The operation was aimed at eliminating the remnants of the Lashkar-e-Islam outfit, which tried to settle in the Tirah Valley while coming from neighboring Afghanistan.

Lashkar-e-Islam was led by Mangal Bagh, who was later killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan three years ago. Gaga was said to be the main operational commander of the terrorist group, which had sided with the TTP.

Last month, on March 18, Pakistan carried out what it called “intelligence-based counter-terrorism operations” in border areas inside Afghanistan in a major escalation of tensions between the two neighbors. Pakistan accuses some elements of the Taliban government of protecting the outlawed TTP.