Taking aim: US drone strike kills 12 militants in Aghanistan

Unconfirmed reports suggest TTP commander Khan Said Sajna among the dead


Tahir Khan November 27, 2015
PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: A US drone strike in the remote hills of eastern Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan on Wednesday evening killed around a dozen militants and injured scores of others. There were unconfirmed reports that senior Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Khan Said, alias Sajna, was among those killed.

According to initial details, the drone targeted a large gathering of militants in the Damma region of Khost province, which borders the North Waziristan region in Pakistan. The attack also killed Naeem Kochi and Kifayat Kochi.

However, Pakistani security officials reportedly told the New York Times, that Sajna was among those dead. Sajna was one of the founding members of the TTP and led a splinter group.

Afghan officials on Thursday confirmed that a strike had taken place on Wednesday evening, but could not verify whether Sajna was among the dead. Border Police chief Baseep Khpalwak told reporters that an American spy aircraft had bombed the mountainous area of Gaggi n Alishero district, close to the border with Pakistan.

While it was unclear who exactly were the militants affiliated with, Khpalwak said that preliminary reports suggested two militant commanders – Koch and Dr Khan – were among the fatalities.

Azam Tariq, a spokesperson for the TTP faction led by Sajna, denied reports of the commander’s death. On the other hand, Mubariz Zadran, a spokesperson for Khost’s governor, said five militants affiliated with the Afghan Taliban had been killed in the strike.

A military official described Sajna as a “leading figure of the TTP” adding that “both Pakistani security forces and Americans were after him for a long time.”

After the Pakistan military launched a massive offensive in the tribal areas in June 2014, code-named Operation Zarb-e-Azb, large swathes of land were cleared of militants. The military said it had killed as many as 2,763 militants in the operation.

However, the offensive had displaced militants in the area, with many fleeing across the porous border into Afghanistan.

Earlier on Tuesday, a US drone strike in the neighbouring Nangarhar province had left at least eight Afghan Taliban dead.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th,  2015.

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