Islamabad: The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has confirmed that one of its senior commanders Mohammad Hasan was killed in a clash with Pakistani security forces in North Waziristan tribal region two days ago.
In a statement, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said on Saturday that the commander was killed in the Boya area.
According to the statement, Hasan had recently been released from an Afghan prison and joined comrades in Pakistan.
The TTP claimed that the clash in Boya began when the local Taliban attacked Pakistan Army personnel.
The banned outfit asserted that its command and control structure was still functioning and disputed claims by the security forces that nearly a thousand local and foreign terrorists have been killed so far in the ongoing operation in North Waziristan.
Launched on June 15, the operation titled Zarb-e-Azb followed a militant attack on Karachi’s international airport and the failure of peace talks between government and TTP negotiators.
More than a million people have fled North Waziristan since the offensive began.
A recent statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations put the number of terrorists killed in the operation at more than 900 and said that 82 Pakistani soldiers also died.
Meanwhile, local media reports said that a militant commander Gul Manan who was involved in terrorist acts was arrested from Adezai area in Pesahwar, capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
