ISLAMABAD, June 16: A top militant commander of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in Pakistan’s restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
TTP commander Waliullah was killed by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Bannu in an intelligence-based operation in the Lakki Marwat district in the province, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The operation was conducted in Tajuri Road near Malang Adda following which the armed terrorists opened fire on the police.
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Waliullah was killed in retaliatory firing by the security forces, the paper said.
He was a local commander of the TTP Tipu Gul group and was the son-in-law of Commander Atiqur Rahman alias Tipu Gul Marwat, the paper said.
Waliullah was wanted in several cases of bomb blasts on CTD Bannu, DI Khan and local police, and attacks on police and security forces.
The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, is believed to be close to al-Qaeda. The group has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
Separately, at least four people of a family were killed and two injured in a roadside blast triggered by a remote-control device in northwest Pakistan on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the Kurram area, bordering Afghanistan.
The vehicle of a tribal elder was targeted with an IED when it was on its to a nearby market. The deceased included a child also.
The injured were shifted to a hospital. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Police have launched a search operation in the area. (PTI)
