Top Pakistani Taliban leader killed in IED attack in Afghanistan

A top leader of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and two other members were killed in a targeted bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Senior commander Abdul Wali, also known as Omar Khalid Khorasani, who carried a bounty of $3 million, was travelling with senior commanders of the militant group in the Birmal district of the Patrika province, which borders Pakistan, when their vehicle hit a roadside mine.

According to Associated Press, Khorasani's vehicle was reportedly struck on Sunday night in a targeted IED attack.

The Taliban confirmed the killing on Monday and ordered an investigation of the incident.

“Senior TTP leader Omar Khalid Khorasani and two other members of the banned outfit were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan on Sunday evening,” Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said.

Khorasani was a former journalist and poet. He was wanted by the Pakistani government for his involvement in a series of attacks on security forces, tribal elders and members of the peace committee in the area, reports Dawn.

Omar and a majority of the TTP members from Mohmand agency had parted ways with the TTP and formed a splinter group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat Ahrar (TTP-JA) in 2014 after he accused the leadership of deviating from the outfit’s ideology.

The TTP leader's killing is being seen as a major blow to the group, especially at a time when it is involved in peace talks with the Pakistani government.

The TTP-JA has carried out some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including the Easter Sunday explosion of 2016, which killed at least 74 people and injured 362 others in a park in the city of Lahore.

(With inputs from agencies)

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