Security forces kill TTP commander in northwestern Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces said they killed in an operation on Monday a notorious Pakistani Taliban commander suspected of involvement in the killing of four women teachers in a former militant stronghold in the country’s northwest.
A military statement said Saif Ullah was involved in the February attack in the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan province, which borders Afghanistan, when the four teachers were gunned down while traveling in a car.
The military said the suspect was also involved in past attacks on Pakistani security forces, construction engineers and kidnappings for ransom in the region.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are a separate militant group from the Afghan Taliban, have for years waged war against the government in Islamabad. They were also behind the 2012 attack that wounded Malala Yousafzai, who in 2014 became Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her work as an advocate for young women’s education. Malala is the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel prize.
There are concerns that the Pakistani Taliban are becoming emboldened after the Afghan Taliban last month took power in Afghanistan as US and NATO forces were in the final stages of their pullout from the country.
Militants in Pakistan in general have in recent months stepped up attacks in North Waziristan, raising fears they are regrouping in the area, a former Taliban stronghold.