Senior Taliban leadership fled before offensive began, says Pak army commander

A Pakistani army commander in the mountainous region of North Waziristan has reportedly admitted that senior Taliban leadership in the area had fled the site even before an offensive was launched against them.

According to the BBC, Major-General Zafarullah Khan said that the senior militants had already sensed the impending government-led operation in the area after the talks failed and had therefore, abandoned their stronghold.

The offensive which was a long-standing demand of the US government was launched by Pakistan last month following the attack on Karachi International Airport. As per the report, the Pakistani military claimed that almost 400 suspected militants have been killed in the operation till date that was launched to get rid of the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in the region.

However, the report also quoted a Taliban commander, Gilaman Mehsood as saying that the figures quoted by the Pakistani army were incorrect and that most of the militants have taken refuge in border areas of Afghanistan; a claim that was denied by the army.