South Asia News
Senior Pakistani Taliban commander assassinated
Jun 27, 2011, 13:24 GMT
Islamabad - A senior Taliban leader was assassinated in Pakistan's north-western region along Afghan border on Monday, intelligence officials said.
Shakirullah Shakir, a commander in Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organization for more than a dozen local militant outfits came under attack near Eesha check post in North Waziristan.
'Someone fired at him from a car with tinted windows while he was riding a motorbike,' said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'Shakirullah died at the spot.'
It was not initially clear whether Shakir was killed by a rival Taliban group or Pakistani security forces.
Originally from South Waziristan, Shakir had fled to North Waziristan when thousands of military troops launched an operation against TTP in South Waziristan last year.
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