Taliban commander killed in suspected US drone strike near Pak-Afghan border

A suspected US drone strike on Wednesday killed an alleged Pakistani Taliban commander and his associate near the Afghan border, security officials said.The drone targeted commander Qari Abdullah Dawar, as he was walking with his associate near their mountain hideout located on zero point on the Pak-Afghan border near North Waziristan. According to the officials, the slain militants were from the Gul Bahadur group, which had carried out attacks inside Afghanistan.Last month, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan Province Kunar.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Mullah Fazal Ullah was “hiding in Af- ghanistan since 2009”. The ISPR had termed the killing of Mullah Fazlullah “a positive development”, adding that the TTP leader’s death “gives relief to scores of Pakistani families who fell victims to TTP terror including the APS massacre”.North Waziristan has long been a sanctuary for Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups.