A senior commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as Tipu Gul and also recognized as Commander TTP Lakki Marwat Atiqur Rehman, was killed during a shootout in Kunar province of Afghanistan. Rehman was on the wanted list of Pakistan’s security forces for his involvement in the killing of numerous security and police personnel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
TTP, a proscribed terrorist organization, has been fighting against the state of Pakistan since 2007. The group emerged from the fractured elements of al-Qaeda and other militant factions with the objective of imposing Sharia law in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While the TTP was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, including children, it gained infamy for its heinous attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014. In recent years, the TTP shifted its focus from attacking civilians to targeting Pakistani military personnel and intelligence operatives in response to Pakistan’s military operations in North Waziristan and efforts to cut off the group’s financial support.
Pakistan has consistently urged the Afghan interim government to take action against TTP militants, but the group has continued to operate from areas in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.
Israeli Airstrikes Claim Lives of Nine UN Employees in Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
Meanwhile, nine employees of the United Nations (UN) have lost their lives in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since the start of the bombardment on Saturday, according to a statement from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The casualties include six UNRWA staff members and three contractors, with three teachers also injured.
UNRWA schools throughout the Gaza Strip, including the Rehabilitation Centre for the Visually Impaired and two vocational centers in Gaza and Khan Younis, remain closed. In total, the airstrikes have affected 20 installations since the start of the conflict on October 7.
The Israeli military launched a significant campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by Hamas in Israeli territories. The conflict erupted after Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multifaceted attack involving rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel, citing retaliation for events at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
