'Seven JuA militants killed in NATO, Afghan forces raid'

Spokesperson of the banned outfit says the militants were killed in Nangarhar, bordering Mohmand Agency

Seven militants affiliated with Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA), a broken faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed in a security operation, the group's spokesperson claimed on Sunday.

In a message to journalists, the banned outfit was quick to name its seven fighters, who it said were killed in a joint operation by Nato and Afghan troops in Nangarhar, which borders Mohmand Agency.

JuA spokesperson Asad Mansoor claimed that of the seven killed, six were from Mohmand Agency and one from Bannu. The raid, he added, took place on the night between Friday and Saturday.

Adil Bacha, one of the slain militants, hailed from Shani Khel Ghallanai Mohmand agency and was a top JuA commander. Bacha had established his compound in Afghanistan near Pak-Afghan border after Pakistan Army conducted an operation against the terrorist outfit in the agency.

Bacha was the one whose compound was targeted by Pakistan's security forces across the border after a deadly suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan earlier in February this year.

Others militants killed were identified as Wali Khan alias Haris, Saz Muhammad alias Abdur Rehman, hailing from Shani Khel; Luqman alias Qari Saeed from Dorba Khel area; Nazir alias Shami from Dawizai area; Amjad alias Sor Qari from Shabqadar Charsadda, and Amjad alias Gharsani from Bannu.

Bacha was known as the chief of Haleemzai tehsil of Mohmand Agency, whereas Wali Khan was the the head of Malagori area in Khyber Agency.

Mansoor, his his statement, said that Bacha and Haris were their top commanders, with Haris being an operational commander, while Gharsani was working in the arms and ammunition department of the militant organisation.

It is rare for the militant outfit to immediately release extensive details of their fighters who had been killed in the alleged attack.