US drone strike in Waziristan kills two, including TTP deputy

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: At least two people died, including the deputy commander of a banned-outfit, in a US drone strike on Thursday night near the Pak-Afghan border.

Among those killed was Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) deputy commander Khalid Mehsud aka Khan Saeed Sajna.

The TTP confirmed Sajna's killing and the appointment of Maulvi Khatir as his successor. 

Last month, on January 24, a drone strike conducted by coalition forces close to the Orakzai Agency and Kurram Agency border killed two people, including a commander of the Haqqani Network.

Pakistan had subsequently condemned the drone strike and called the unilateral action detrimental to the spirit of cooperation with the US in the fight against terrorism.

The US, through a statement by the US Embassy, had denied Islamabad's claim that the drone strike struck an Afghan refugee camp, with its spokesperson saying, “The claim in an MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] statement yesterday that US forces struck an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency yesterday is false.”