Well, you know the drill ... don't take this information to the bank but let's keep our fingers crossed that Pakistani Taliban leader, Maulvi Fazlullah was killed the other day when his forces clashed with Afghan forces just inside of Afghanistan in Nuristan province.
From the report at DAWN:
By now, I'm not willing to make a call on the accuracy of this, especially when there aren't any U.S. or even Pakistani forces involved in the killing. But, if true, it would represent a very nice sized fish taken out of the mix in the region.
From the report at DAWN:
A top leader of Pakistan's Taliban may have been killed in a clash with Afghan forces near the border, a senior Afghan police officer said on Thursday.
Maulvi Fazlullah, the head of a Taliban faction in the Swat Valley, was reportedly killed along with six of his comrades in the Barg Matal district of Afghanistan's Nuristan province, which lies close to the border with Pakistan, said Mohammad Zaman Mamozai, chief of the Afghan border force for the eastern region.
“Our units have reported that Fazlullah has been killed. We don't yet know if it's true or not. We're investigating this right now,” Zaman said.
The bodies were recovered by the police, he said, adding: “We're investigating to find out if Maulana's body is among those seven.”
By now, I'm not willing to make a call on the accuracy of this, especially when there aren't any U.S. or even Pakistani forces involved in the killing. But, if true, it would represent a very nice sized fish taken out of the mix in the region.
Fazlullah reportedly killed in clash: Afghan police
ASADABAD: A top leader of Pakistan's Taliban may have been killed in a clash with Afghan forces near the border, a senior Afghan police officer said on Thursday.
Maulvi Fazlullah, the head of a Taliban faction in the Swat Valley, was reportedly killed along with six of his comrades in the Barg Matal district of Afghanistan's Nuristan province, which lies close to the border with Pakistan, said Mohammad Zaman Mamozai, chief of the Afghan border force for the eastern region.
“Our units have reported that Fazlullah has been killed. We don't yet know if it's true or not. We're investigating this right now,” Zaman said.
The bodies were recovered by the police, he said, adding: “We're investigating to find out if Maulana's body is among those seven.”
Mohammad Farouq, Nuristan's deputy provincial police chief also said the Pakistani militant leader may have been killed, but had no confirmation.
“We have reports from our sources that he has been killed in Bargi Matal clashes. We are investigating,” Farouq said.
The news of Fazlullah's death comes after reports of several days of clashes between Afghan forces and militants in Barg Matal.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who heads a Pakistani Taliban faction based in the Bajuar tribal region, denied media reports that Fazlullah was leading any assault in Afghanistan.
“He could be in Nuristan because the Taliban have been moving back and fourth along the (Pakistan-Afghan) border,” he told a news agency by telephone prior to reports of Fazlullah's death.
“He may be living in Nuristan but he is not engaged in any fighting there,” he said.
In a BBC interview in November, Fazlullah said he had escaped to Afghanistan after a Pakistani military offensive against the Taliban in his Swat Valley stronghold in April last year. — Agencies
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