Key TTP leader killed in Afghanistan

Sheikh Khalid Haqqani belonged to the Swabi district of Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, a senior leader of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was assassinated during a shootout in Afghanistan, said reports emanating from the neighbouring country on early Friday.

Source told the Express Tribune that Haqqani, a member of the outlawed outfit’s ‘Rehbar Shura’, was caught in cross-fire and later succumbed to the injuries. Another senior commander Qari Saifullah Peshawari and three others were also killed in the shooting.

Haqqani belonged to the Swabi district of Pakistan. He had been accused of being involved in several high-profile attacks in Pakistan, including the 2014 assault on a school in Peshawar, which left more than 150 people dead, according to BBC.

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Anadolu news agency quoted a spokesperson for the outlawed group as saying that Haqqani and Qari Saif were killed during a fight with forces in Afghanistan on Jan 31. According to BBC, the TTP said in a statement that the men were killed in a clash with American forces.

Quoting its sources, the BBC said that the bodies were found near the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and that both were carrying fake IDs.

It added that they were apparently travelling from the eastern Afghan province of Paktika to hold a secret "meeting" in the Afghan capital.

A source within the group said the bodies were handed over to the group, and the funeral was held for them on Monday in eastern Kunar province, the BBC report added.