Former TTP spokesman Azam Tariq reportedly killed near Pakistan border

PESHAWAR (Web Desk) - The former spokesperson for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Azam Tariq has been reportedly killed in Afghanistan’s Paktika province.

According to media reports, Azam Tariq (real name Raees Khan) was among the four Taliban leaders killed in an operation by the joint Afghan and Nato airstrikes in the Laman area of Paktika province. Sources said Azam’s son was also among the dead.

An advisor of TTP's Khan Saeed Sajna group, Zeeshan Haider Mehsud, confirmed the death of Tariq and his son while fighting Afghan security forces.

The TTP advisor added that 10 other militants were killed in the fighting which erupted in Paktika province.

Khan Saeed Sajna, who had broken away from the TTP along with Tariq was reported killed earlier this year in an American drone strike which targeted the group in Afghanistan.

In 2014, Irfan Mehsud, a son of Azam Tariq, was killed in an exchange of fire with Pakistan Army troops in Bober.