Key commanders of Gul Bahadur group killed in Datakhel strikes: reports
PESHAWAR: Conflicting reports suggest that air strikes conducted in Datakhel tehsil of North Waziristan Agency have killed key commanders of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
The dead are reported to include Gul Bahadur, Sadiq Noor and Akhtar Muhammad along with 30 other militants of the group.
Some sources are saying that at least seven key commanders of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group have died in the strikes.
Pakistani F16 jet fighters targeted the militants compound and a vehicle in Seen Tanga area of Datakhel tehsil of the agency.
Military sources say that the strikes have been carried out against the militants in the area but their identity and the causality figure is yet to be confirmed.
Read also: Airstrikes in North Waziristan kill 18 suspected militants
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is commander of the Shura Mujahideen in North Waziristan. He had signed a peace deal with the Pakistani army in 2006, which had been renewed in 2008.
Read also: Analysis: Why Bahadur is so vexed
Bahadur however withdrew from the agreement citing the military operation in North Waziristan as a violation of the peace treaty.
Bahadur is also reportedly associated with the Haqqani group while leading his own group of the Taliban in NWA distinct from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).