<p>Fazal Saeed Haqqani, a Taliban commander in Pakistan's volatile tribal belt has broken away from the militant outfit to form his own group as he is opposed to suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.<br /><br />Haqqani, operating in the Kurram tribal region, separated from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and formed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami, Geo News channel reported.<br />Haqqani told the media that he had taken this step to protest suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.<br /><br />Incidentally, hours after the reports of the split emerged, unidentified gunmen in a car with tinted windows opened fire at commander Shakirullah Shakir, who helped train and deploy over 1,000 suicide bombers in the restive North Waziristan tribal region.<br />Shakir was riding a motorcycle near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency, when the attack happened, officials told the media.<br /><br />Shakir was a senior commander and spokesman for the Fidayeen-e-Islam faction of the Pakistani Taliban.<br /><br />He once claimed to a newspaper that his group had trained over 1,000 suicide bombers at camps in North Waziristan.<br /><br />No group claimed responsibility for the killing. <br /><br />North Waziristan and South Waziristan regions are sanctuaries for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda elements.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Geo News quoted its sources as saying that Haqqani earlier led TTP fighters in Kurram Agency and had set up training centres in several areas.<br /><br />In the past, Haqqani's associates kidnapped people and kept them in their training centres.<br /><br />They would then kill their captives or release them after being paid ransom, the channel reported.<br /><br />Observers said the move by Haqqani could be part of efforts by the government and security forces to engineer a split in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is led by Hakimullah Mehsud.<br /><br />There was no word from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on the development.</p>
<p>Fazal Saeed Haqqani, a Taliban commander in Pakistan's volatile tribal belt has broken away from the militant outfit to form his own group as he is opposed to suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.<br /><br />Haqqani, operating in the Kurram tribal region, separated from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and formed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami, Geo News channel reported.<br />Haqqani told the media that he had taken this step to protest suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.<br /><br />Incidentally, hours after the reports of the split emerged, unidentified gunmen in a car with tinted windows opened fire at commander Shakirullah Shakir, who helped train and deploy over 1,000 suicide bombers in the restive North Waziristan tribal region.<br />Shakir was riding a motorcycle near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency, when the attack happened, officials told the media.<br /><br />Shakir was a senior commander and spokesman for the Fidayeen-e-Islam faction of the Pakistani Taliban.<br /><br />He once claimed to a newspaper that his group had trained over 1,000 suicide bombers at camps in North Waziristan.<br /><br />No group claimed responsibility for the killing. <br /><br />North Waziristan and South Waziristan regions are sanctuaries for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda elements.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Geo News quoted its sources as saying that Haqqani earlier led TTP fighters in Kurram Agency and had set up training centres in several areas.<br /><br />In the past, Haqqani's associates kidnapped people and kept them in their training centres.<br /><br />They would then kill their captives or release them after being paid ransom, the channel reported.<br /><br />Observers said the move by Haqqani could be part of efforts by the government and security forces to engineer a split in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is led by Hakimullah Mehsud.<br /><br />There was no word from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on the development.</p>