A Pakistani Taliban leader who has been responsible for numerous
attacks and kidnapping in the tribal areas is rumored to have been
killed by a family member. The report has not been confirmed.
Commander Tariq Afridi, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in
Pakistan's operations in Khyber, as well as in regions in Arakzai,
Peshawar, Kohat, and Hangu, was supposedly gunned down by his
brother-in-law as he "was riding a horse,"
according to Geo News. The motivation for the alleged shooting was not given.
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan or Tariq's spokesman, Mohammed Afridi, have not responded to the reports of his death.
Tariq was named the terror group's commander of Khyber in November
2009. He had been a member of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the al Qaeda and
Taliban-linked terror group
that routinely murders Shia in Pakistan and even
conducted a suicide attack against Shia in Kabul, Afghanistan in December 2011.
Tariq also leads the Commander Tariq Afridi Group. This Taliban
outfit is considered the most powerful terror group in Arakzai, and is
based in Darra Adam Khel. The Tariq Afridi Group also conducts attacks
on Pakistani security forces in Kohat and Hangu. His fighters were
responsible for closing down the Kohat Tunnel twice in 2008.
He also has kidnapped and murdered Pakistanis and foreigners. In
early 2009, the Commander Tariq Afridi Group claimed the murder and
beheading of Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak. In early 2010, operating
under the guise of an outfit named the "Asian Tigers," the group was
responsible for the kidnapping and murder of former ISI officer and
jihadist sympathizer Khalid Khawaja.
Additionally, Tariq's forces have attacked, looted, and destroyed NATO supply vehicles that pass through Khyber.
If his death is confirmed, Tariq will be the second senior emir
Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to have been killed in the past
week. Maulana Mohammad Jamal, the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in
Pakistan's branch in Bajaur, and Shakir, his deputy,
were killed in an ISAF airstrike in Kunar province, Afghanistan on Aug. 24.
Additionally, two senior jihadist leaders are reported to have been
killed last week, although their deaths have not been confirmed.
Badruddin Haqqani, a top leader in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network,
is thought to have been killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid
denied reports
that claimed Badruddin was killed in a drone strike, and said he "is in
the country and he is occupied with his operational responsibilities."
Afghan intelligence claimed Badruddin is dead.
Emeti Yakuf, who is also known as, Abdul Shakoor Turkistani,
may have been killed
in the Aug. 24 drone strike in North Waziristan's Shawal Valley that
hit a training camp. Yakuf directs al Qaeda operations in Pakistan's
tribal areas.
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
