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Top Pakistani Taliban commander believed killed in Afghanistan

Xinhua, September 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

A senior leader of Pakistani Taliban, Azam Tariq, is believed to have been killed in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, the group's sources confirmed to the media on Sunday.

Azam Tariq was among four Pakistani Taliban activists who were killed in an operation by the Afghan security forces late Saturday, the sources told tribal journalists in Pakistan. Some sources said Azam's son is also among the dead.

Security sources have also confirmed to tribal journalists in the region that the Taliban's leader has been killed, according to section of the media.

The slain leader had previously worked as the spokesman for the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and was working as spokesman for the Taliban faction led by a senior commander, Khan Sayed alias Sajna.

Pakistani security officials believe that majority of the Taliban belong to Sajna group living in Paktika province after they entered Afghanistan in the wake of military operations in Waziristan tribal region.

Last month, American and Afghan officials confirmed that a leader of the Islamic State, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was killed in a U.S. drone strike. Khan, a senior former Pakistani Taliban leader, was the head of the IS group in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Endit