Key TTP commander killed in North Waziristan
Ashiqullah Mehsud killed in fresh clashes between rival factions of the TTP
Ashiqullah Mehsud was an important TTP commander who took over the reins after the death Qari Hussain Mehsud. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
A key Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) commander was killed on Wednesday in fresh clashes between two rival factions of the militant group in North Waziristan.
Ashiqullah Mehsud, who belongs to the Shaheryar Mehsud group, was killed in Hoormaz village of Mirali tehsil.
He was believed to be an important TTP commander who took over the reins after the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud.
The Shehryar Mehsud-led faction has fought bloody clashes with a rival faction – Waliur Rehman Group, led by Khan Said, aka Sajna – since April. Dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed in clashes since then. Last week, the Sajna faction broke away from the TTP, accusing the group of criminality.
The government’s nascent peace initiative had hit a deadlock due to the TTP infighting, though Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had insisted that they expected some headway from a second round of talks with the TTP Political Shura. However, the two sides could not set the date and time for a second face-to-face meeting between their negotiators.
Ashiqullah Mehsud, who belongs to the Shaheryar Mehsud group, was killed in Hoormaz village of Mirali tehsil.
He was believed to be an important TTP commander who took over the reins after the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud.
The Shehryar Mehsud-led faction has fought bloody clashes with a rival faction – Waliur Rehman Group, led by Khan Said, aka Sajna – since April. Dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed in clashes since then. Last week, the Sajna faction broke away from the TTP, accusing the group of criminality.
The government’s nascent peace initiative had hit a deadlock due to the TTP infighting, though Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had insisted that they expected some headway from a second round of talks with the TTP Political Shura. However, the two sides could not set the date and time for a second face-to-face meeting between their negotiators.