Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 15 Jun 2018, 07:41 am Print
Kabul: Senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah has been gunned down during a drone strike in Afghanstan, local Tolo News reorted.
Quoting sources, the local news outlet said that the incident took place on Wednesday in Kunar province.
"Wednesday’s drone strike reportedly took place in Marawayra district along the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Tolo News reported.
It stated that four other TTP commanders were also among the deceased.
They have been identified by the outlet as Abu Bakr, Sajjad, Emran and Mawlawi Omar.
Claiming the strike, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Martin O’Donnell told Tolo News, "US forces conducted a counterterrorism strike, June 13, in Kunar province, close to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which targeted a senior leader of a designated terrorist organization."
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan government has entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Taliban.
Speaking about the pact, O'Donnell said that while his men adhered to it, they targeted other terrorists groups.
"US Forces-Afghanistan and NATO-led Resolute Support forces continue to adhere to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's unilateral cease-fire with the Afghan Taliban, announced by H.E. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which began on the twenty-seventh day of Ramadan.
“As previously stated, the cease-fire does not include US counterterrorism efforts against IS-K (Daesh), Al-Qaeda, and other regional and international terrorist groups, or the inherent right of US and international forces to defend ourselves if attacked. We hope this pause leads to dialogue and progress on reconciliation and a lasting end to hostilities," he said.
Fazlullah, who carried a USD 5 million bounty on his head, reportedly ordered the attempted assassination of Noble Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
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