A senior khariji commander of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Fitna al-Khawarij, identified as Ustad Abu Bakr, also known as Hakim, was killed in a targeted shooting in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province, security sources confirmed. The TTP has officially acknowledged the death of their commander.
According to reports, unknown assailants opened fire on Abu Bakr while he was traveling in the province. The attack has raised concerns over escalating targeted operations against TTP leadership in Afghanistan. Local sources described chaotic scenes following the incident, with residents reporting increased movement of armed personnel and heightened security in the surrounding areas.
In recent months, a series of similar attacks have claimed the lives of several high-ranking TTP commanders across eastern Afghanistan, indicating a possible coordinated effort to dismantle the group’s leadership. Analysts suggest that these targeted killings are likely part of broader intelligence and counterterrorism operations in the region, aimed at weakening the TTP’s operational capabilities along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The killing of Abu Bakr may further destabilize TTP operations and fuel internal power struggles within the organization. Security observers caution that such attacks, while strategically significant, could also provoke retaliatory strikes by militant factions in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The TTP has yet to announce how it plans to respond to the loss of one of its senior leaders, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack at this time.
