Senior Taliban commander Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, who once fought in Kashmir, and three other militants were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan tribal region on Monday.
The gunmen opened fire at Bhittani’s vehicle near Darga Mandi at Ghulam Khan area, security sources said. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander and the others were killed instantly. Bhittani carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head and was among the 20 most wanted Taliban commanders. Geo News reported he had survived five previous attempts on his life.
Prior to joining the Taliban, Bhittani had been part of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and had fought in Jammu & Kashmir, the channel reported. The attackers fled after the shooting as panic gripped the area. local residents took the bodies to a nearby hospital. No group claimed responsibility for the killings. Bhittani had served as acting chief of the TTP after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a US drone last year. He also headed the Taliban’s supreme ‘shura’ or council. He belonged to the Bethni tribe of South Waziristan. The Bhethni tribesmen live in Jandola area of South Waziristan Agency and in Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.