Double-cabin SUV carrying LeI spokesman Salahuddin Ayubi and his six comrades was targeted. PHOTO: AFP
The spokesperson for Mangal Bagh’s Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) extremist group was among seven militants killed in a precision strike on a vehicle in the Sipah area of Tirah Valley on Wednesday. At least 30 militants were killed in air strikes elsewhere in the remote valley which has been the scene of fierce fighting for the last two weeks.
Security and administration officials said a double-cabin SUV carrying LeI spokesman Salahuddin Ayubi and his six comrades was targeted with a missile in the Sipa area of Tirah. All those on board were killed on the spot.
Afghan security officials earlier claimed that Mangal Bagh himself was travelling in the vehicle. However, the LeI denied the claim, though the group confirmed the death of Salahuddin Ayubi in the strike.
In the meantime, warplanes continued air strikes against the positions of militants elsewhere in Tirah Valley for the sixth consecutive day. Security forces claimed that 30 militants were killed in the blitz. Sources said the hideouts and ammunition stockpiles of militants were also destroyed in the air raids in the villages of Langrosa, Sardana, Marhruban Kallay and Tordara.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2015.
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