ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Taliban commander was killed in a security operation in Pakistan last week, according to reports from Pakistani media citing security sources.
The commander, identified as Mujeebur Rehman, also known as Mansoor, was among 14 militants killed on Feb. 28 during an operation in Ghulam Khan Kalay, a town near the Afghan border, the reports said. Rehman, an Afghan national, was the son of Mirza Khan and hailed from Dandar village in Afghanistan’s Maidan Wardak province. He had served as a commander in the third battalion of the Taliban’s National Military Academy, according to the Pakistani news outlet Geo News, which cited unnamed security officials.
The operation follows a similar incident on Jan. 30, when Pakistani security forces killed another Afghan militant, Badruddin, in the city of Dera Ismail Khan. Badruddin, the son of Maulvi Ghulam Muhammad, was reportedly a lieutenant in the Taliban army and the son of the Taliban’s deputy governor of Afghanistan’s Badghis province, Geo News reported.
The developments come amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban-led government in Kabul of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghan territory, a claim that the Afghan authorities have denied.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,550-mile border, which remains largely porous despite security measures. Several key crossing points facilitate trade and the movement of people between the two countries, though security concerns have increasingly strained relations.
