Taliban suicide attack on militant commander in Pakistan, 17 killed

A suicide bombing in Pakistan’s northwestern region has killed at least 17 militants, reports said Thursday.

Zee Media Bureau

Islamabad: A suicide bombing in northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has killed at least 17 militants, reports said Thursday. The attack targeted the compound of militant commander Nabi Hanfi, who was fighting a branch of Pakistan Taliban, the BBC reported. Hanafi was not present at the time of the attack. Hanfi was the commander of the Hangu chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) before switching sides and joining the government`s counter-insurgency efforts, The Express Tribune said. Nabi had earlier said that his group was on TTP`s hit list since the latter wanted to seize control of Hangu, Kohat, Orakzai and parts of the Kurram Agency. The militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban have claimed the attack that took place in remote mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the report added. Authorities said, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the compound of the militant chief. Pakistan’s northwest region has witnesses increasing number of attacks of late, with Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, being targeted time and again by Taliban insurgents. With PTI inputs The Taliban reject Pakistan`s constitutuion and want Army removed from tribal regions.