Islamabad, March 13 (IANS): A key militant commander of the banned Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been killed in an operation in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the militant group said on Friday.
A Jamaat-ul-Ahrar spokesman said Qari Shakeel and militant commander Tariq Ali were killed on Thursday in an operation in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, Geo News reported.
A spokesman for the TTP also confirmed the death of Qari Shakeel and three others.
However, he did not specify where Shakeel was killed.
Officials are yet to confirm the report.
Qari Shakeel, a top militant commander who was known to head the political shura (council) of the TTP, represented the Taliban in the failed peace talks with the Pakistani government last year.