Former TTP mouthpiece Shahidullah Shahid killed in US drone strike

JALALABAD (Web Desk) - Shahidullah Shahid, the former spokesman of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed in a US drone strike in Nangarhar province along with 49 other IS militants, an Afghan news agency confirmed on Thursday.

Quoting the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Afghanistan, the official account of the country's renowned news channel Tolo News tweeted that Shahidullah Shahid had been killed in Nangarhar drone attack.

BREAKING: Shahidullah Shahid, leader of Daesh in Afghanistan and former Pakistani Taliban spokesman, killed in Nangarhar drone attack: NDS

— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 9, 2015

Based on #NDS intelligence, Mawlawi Shahedullah Shahed, a senior ISIS commander was killed in a air strike in Achin district, Nengarhar.

— NDS Afghanistan (@NDSAfghanistan) July 9, 2015

However, independent sources could not not confirm his death.

Last year, the Pakistani Taliban sacked Shahid after his defection to the ‘Islamic State’ (IS).

The Taliban leadership had confirmed he no longer worked for them and reiterated their support for the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar. Taliban leaders from Orakzai, Kuram, Khyber agencies, Peshawar and Hangu district are among those who have parted ways with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and joined the self-styled Islamic State.

The militant commander, whose real name is Sheikh Maqbool Orakzai, parted ways with the TTP and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of IS.

Currently, IS poses serious threats to the Afghan Taliban, who are now engaged in talks with Afghan administration for durable peace in the region.

A few months earlier, the Afghan Taliban had issued a letter to the IS chief warning them to keep away from Afghanistan.

The recent development of Shahid's death could be a serious setback for newly recruited IS militants in Afghanistan.