LOWER DIR: Senior commander of the outlawed terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Hafeezullah alias Kochwan was killed in an intelligence-based operation here on Thursday night, sources said.

They said Hafeezullah was a potential successor to TTP head Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud.

The sources said Hafeezullah and another TTP member were killed by security forces after an intense exchange of fire in the Shekolai area.

They said the TTP commander was involved in several attacks against security forces and a 2010 bombing that killed three US military’s trainers.

The trainers were targeted as they’re on the way to Maidan to inaugurate a girls’ school, following a military operation in Malakand.

According to officials, the operation was launched following a “credible tip-off” about the presence of terrorists in the area. Security forces surrounded the area and effectively engaged terrorists. Body of the second terrorist killed in the crossfire is being identified.

A statement issued by the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, said that the operation was carried out on the night between April 10 and 11, and two terrorists, including “high-value target” Hafizullah, were killed after an intense exchange of fire.

It added that the action was part of the broader efforts to eliminate terrorism from the region and that a “sanitisation operation” was being conducted to ensure the area is cleared of any remaining militants.

The sources said Hafeezullah, a resident of Kohan Nehag Dara in Upper Dir, was wanted by the law-enforcement agencies and that he carried the head money of Rs10 million.

They said the TTP commander was considered a key operative responsible for orchestrating a series of attacks in Lower Dir and Chitral regions between 2009 and 2014.

The sources said Hafeezullah, along with his family, moved to Maidan and led the TTP in the restive Maidan area of Lower Dir in 2008-09, wherein once he had set up his own “sharia courts.” He fled the area after a successful military offensive against TTP in April 2009, and took shelter in the Kunar area of Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025