MIRAMSHAH: Eight militants, a leader among them, were killed as clashes between two rival groups of the Taliban continued in North Waziristan on Friday.

Three militants were wounded.

Sources said gunmen in a car opened fire on Saeed Khan Mehsud alias Al Qaeda in Mirali Bazaar, killing him on the spot. Saeed Khan, they said, was a leader of the Khan Said Sajna group and supervised financial assistance to the families of slain militants.

Attack on car in Mirali, clash in Shawal

The sources said he may have been killed in retaliation for the murder of Ashiqullah Mehsud of the Sheheryar group who died in an attack on Thursday. Ashiqullah is said to have been the master trainer of suicide bombers after the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud.

Meanwhile, seven militants were killed and three others injured in a clash between militants belonging to the two groups in Shawal area. Sources said five victims belonged to the Sheheryar group and two to the Sajna group.

The fighting took place in Wacha Mela area of Shawal, some 65km from here.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2014