Three senior commanders of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in an explosion in eastern Afghanistan.
TTP sources have confirmed the deaths of three of its commanders.
According to sources cited by the Gandhara news agency, one of the commanders was Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid Khorasani, who was regarded as one of the most influential and ruthless TTP leaders. The remaining two individuals were identified as Hafiz Dawlat and Mufti Hassan.
The men were traveling in the Birmal district of the Paktika province of Afghanistan on the evening of August 7 when their vehicle struck a roadside mine, sources told RFE/RL Radio Mashaal on condition of anonymity.
The three commanders were reportedly based in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. They were traveling to Birmal “for consultation,” according to the sources, who did not provide further information.
The news comes at a time when Pakistani authorities are negotiating a peace agreement with the militant group’s leadership. The TTP and the Pakistani military have been observing a ceasefire for the past two months.
Khorasani belonged to Pakistan’s Mohmand tribal district and was reportedly in charge of the Pakistani Taliban’s Mohmand branch.
Hassan was among the roughly a dozen TTP commanders who pledged allegiance to the slain leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi.
A few years ago, some TTP circles believe Hassan was responsible for inciting intra-TTP conflict, according to sources.
Hafiz Dawlat was regarded as an important TTP commander and Khorasani’s close confidant.
Khorasani carried a Rs10 million bounty on his head. Dawlat and Hassan joined the Khorasan franchise of the Islamic State when it was established, but they were later recruited back by the TTP.
Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia program at TheWilsonCenter and writer for ForeignPolicy, tweeted late last night, “Omar Khalid Khorasani, a prominent TTP leader, was reportedly killed in Afghanistan. If true, this would be a devastating blow to TTP, as he has been falsely reported dead in the past. An important member of the group. Unimaginably brutal. Moreover, he once claimed to have provided shelter for Ayman Al-Zawahiri.”
In October 2017, the media reported that Khalid Khorasani and nine other militants were killed in Afghanistan by a drone strike.
