TTP leader gunned down by own guard

A senior Pakistani Taliban leader, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, has been shot dead in the Kurram tribal region by one of his guards who had been working with him for three years.

Haqqani had served as head of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Kurram Agency under the leadership of Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike near Miramshah in 2013, reports the Express Tribune.

He had later parted ways with the TTP and launched his own faction Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami against the bombings of mosques and civilians.

According to militant sources, the guard, identified as Idrees Afridi from Khyber Agency, shot Haqqani multiple times near his home on Thursday where he was present with other militants. Another commander Sher Zaman was also killed in the firing. The attacker then fled the scene.

Motive behind the attack were unclear and no group claimed responsibility. It is believed that Haqqani may have been targeted due to internal differences among the Taliban groups.

Haqqani was among the several influential Taliban commanders when he was part of the TTP. The militant group announced that his funeral will be held in Lower Kurram on Friday.