APS tragedy mastermind Mullah Fazlullah killed in US drone attack

PESHAWAR (92 News) – The Afghan Defence Ministry has confirmed the death of Mullah Fazlullah, who was named TTP chief after the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike in November 2013, in the drone strike in Kunar province of Afghanistan. According to BBC, the Taliban have not confirmed the death of Mullah Fazlullah. However, it is being considered that the Taliban Shura will announce the death after reaching consensus on the new TTP chief. Mullah Fazalullah’s son was also killed in a drone attack in March. The elusive chief of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was reportedly been killed in a US drone strike that took place in the Nur Gul Kalay village of Dangam district on June 13. Four other TTP commanders identified as Abu Bakar, Umar, Imran and Sajid have been also been killed in the attack. Fazlullah and his commanders were having an Iftar party at a compound when a remotely piloted US aircraft targeted them, according to sources. The drone strike coincided with a whirlwind visit to Kabul by COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa where he threw his weight behind the fresh peace overture of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. “US forces conducted a counter terrorism strike on June 13 in Kunar province, close to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which targeted a senior leader of a designated terrorist organization,” a US military official confirmed to CNN that the target was TTP chief. Mullah Fazlullah, who has been designated as a global terrorist by the United States and carried a bounty of $5 million, had been on the run since his loyalists were routed in a major military operation in Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2009. Mullah Fazlullah had also claimed responsibility for the methodical killing of over 140 pupils and teachers at the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014.