24/02/2014 18:30
Top Pakistan Taliban man 'shot dead'
A senior Pakistani Taliban commander has been shot dead in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border, the BBC reported, citing security sources and relatives.
Asmatullah Shaheen was ambushed as he drove through a village near Miranshah in North Waziristan, reports said. Three aides in the vehicle also died.
It is unclear who killed them. There has been no word from the militants.
Shaheen was briefly the TTP (Pakistani Taliban) interim leader after its chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed last year.
Mehsud died in a US drone strike in November and was later replaced by a new leader, Mullah Fazlullah.
Since then, there have been a series of attacks in which unidentified gunmen have targeted militants in the tribal areas, puzzling observers about who could be behind them.
The attacks have taken place against a backdrop of continuing militant violence across Pakistan and a limited military operation against Taliban strongholds, despite attempts between the two sides to hold peace talks.
Those talks broke down last week after a Taliban faction said it had killed 23 security force personnel in retaliation for the killing of militant fighters by the army.
Shaheen, who is believed to have supported peace talks, is the most senior militant to die since Hakimullah Mehsud was killed.