commander close to Hafiz Gul Bahadur claimed.
Dattakhel is one of the 10 subdivisions of North Waziristan located near the Afghan border.Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his Taliban had signed a peace accord with the government in 2007 and that’s why they were called pro-government. Though the government launched a military offensive on June 15 in North Waziristan against the militants, tribal sources believe that the peace accord is still intact between the government and the Taliban there.
Before the launch of the military offensive, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his militant commanders had threatened to scrap their peace accord with the government if the operation was launched in North Waziristan. However, when the operation began, the Taliban announced a ceasefire till August 10 and remained calm when the deadline ended.
Taliban sources said that serious differences had emerged between Hafiz Gul Bahadur and a powerful militant commander Aleem Khan. Both of them belong to the Wazir tribe, inhabiting most parts of North Waziristan.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur belongs to Madakhel Wazir clan of Wazir tribe inhabiting the Dattakhel subdivision while commander Aleem Khan hails from the Turikhel Wazir sub-tribe, residing in Dosali, Garyoom and Razmak subdivisions of the tribal region.“Differences between the two Taliban commanders surfaced when Gul Bahadur blamed commander Aleem Khan for saving his villages from the military operation and his Wazir tribesmen from displacement.
“After this, commander Aleem Khan started spreading rumours that he (Aleem Khan) had replaced Gul Bahadur,” a Taliban commander, affiliated with Gul Bahadur, said.
Out of 10 subdivisions, the government has carried out military operation in three subdivisions, including Mir Ali, Miranshah and Boya.
Our Bara correspondent adds: About 15 militants were killed when jet fighters shelled their hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Tuesday, official sources said.The sources said several hideouts were targeted early in the day and were destroyed. However, tribal sources said that four women and a minor boy were killed in shelling by the jet fighters in the Nala village of Malikdinkhel tribe in Bara Tehsil.The sources said that the jet fighters pounded the house of Amirullah Afridi in Nala village in Bara Tehsil in which four women and a minor boy were killed.