TTP leader Khalid Khorasani reportedly killed in Afghanistan blast
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Three senior commanders of proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have reportedly been killed in a blast in eastern Afghanistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.
Sources in TTP have confirmed the news of the death of its three commanders.
The Gandhara news agency quoting sources reported that one of the commanders was Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid Khorasani, who was considered to have been one of the most influential and ruthless TTP leaders. The other two were identified as Hafiz Dawlat and Mufti Hassan.
The men were traveling in the Birmal district of the Afghan province of Paktika when their car hit a roadside mine on the evening of August 7, the sources told RFE/RL Radio Mashaal, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The three commanders were said to be based in Afghanistan's Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. They were traveling to Birmal “for consultation,” the sources said, without providing any further details.
The news comes at a time when Pakistani authorities are in contact with the militant group’s leadership to discuss a peace agreement. A truce has already been in place between the TTP and the Pakistani military for the past two months.
Khorasani belonged to Pakistan’s Mohmand tribal district and was said to in charge of the Mohmand branch of the Pakistani Taliban.
Hassan was among the nearly a dozen TTP commanders who had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, the slain leader of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Sources say some TTP circles consider Hassan to have been responsible for inciting infighting in the TTP a few years ago.
Hafiz Dawlat was considered to have been important TTP commanders and a close confidant of Khorasani.
Khorasani carried a bounty of Rs10 million on his head. Dawlat and Hassan had joined the Khorasan franchise of Islamic State when it was set up, but they were later wooed back into the TTP’s folds.
Deputy director at AsiaProgram at TheWilsonCenter and writer of ForeignPolicy Michael Kugelman tweeted late last night: “Omar Khalid Khorasani, a top TTP leader, has reportedly been killed in Afghanistan. Huge blow to TTP, if true (he’s been wrongly reported dead in the past). Major figure within the group. Brutal beyond words. And incidentally he once claimed to have sheltered Ayman Al-Zawahiri.”
Omar Khalid Khorasani, a top TTP leader, has reportedly been killed in Afghanistan. Huge blow to TTP, if true (he’s been wrongly reported dead in the past). Major figure within the group. Brutal beyond words. And incidentally he once claimed to have sheltered Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
— Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) August 7, 2022
In October 2017, the media flashed the news that Khalid Khorasani was killed along with nine other militants in a drone strike in Afghanistan.
Reporter Gohar Mehsud