Army troops stand guard in the Bajaur tribal region on the Afghan border. When the correspondent contacted the assistant political agent of Bajaur, he said he had received 'reports' about Shah Dawran's death on Friday but had no confirmed report about his burial place. - Photo by Reuters.

KHAR Maulana Shah Dawran, a senior 'commander' of Swat Taliban and a close aide of Maulana Fazlullah, has died in Bajaur tribal region of kidney failure, according to local people.

When this correspondent contacted the assistant political agent of Bajaur, he said he had received 'reports' about Shah Dawran's death on Friday but had no confirmed report about his burial place.

The area residents said that some senior leaders of the Taliban, including Shah Dawran, had been staying at a place in Mamond tehsil for several days.

They said that Shah Dawran, who had been suffering from cancer and a kidney disease for a long time, died of kidney failure on Friday night.