TTP's most wanted terrorist among two militants killed in Pakistan's KPK

Peshawar: One of the most wanted terrorist commanders of the Tehreek e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group was among the two militants killed during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Friday.

The police said it challenged the bike riding terrorists on main Timergara road in Lower Dir district on Thursday after receiving intelligence about the presence of TTP fighters in the vicinity and killed two militants, including Hafeezullah alias "Kochwan".

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Hafeezullah was the most wanted TTP terrorist and was involved in major terror attacks.

He carried a bounty of PKR 10 million on his head, the ISPR said in a statement.

Earlier, a counter terrorism department (CTD) official said Hafeezullah carried a bounty of PKR 5 million on his head.

“Hafeezullah’s body has been confirmed, and efforts are underway to identify the other militant," the CTD official said.

The security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to search for the presence of any other terrorist, the official said.

Hafeezullah, a trained militant with a degree in computer science, belonged to Kohan village of Dir district.

He was earlier associated with Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) organisation before joining the TTP where he operated under the command of former TTP chief Maulana Fazlullah. He was also the member of the Shura of TTP.

He was also TTP's shadow governor of Mardan and believed to have orchestrated several deadly attacks against security forces between 2009 and 2014, particularly in the volatile regions of Lower Dir and Chitral.

One of the most high-profile assaults attributed to Hafeezullah was in 2010 when a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of American soldiers training with the Frontier Corps’ Dir Scouts in counter-terrorism operations. The suicide bombing left three US troops dead.