Pakistan Taliban confirms ex-spokesman's killing in Afghanistan

The confirmation comes days after Pakistani security officials said the former spokesman of TTP was shot dead in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. The TTP did not confirm the claim until Thursday.          

The current TTP spokesman, who also goes by name Mohammad Khurasani, said



on Twitter that Balti was killed on Jan. 9 while travelling. He said Balti's death was a great loss and his death would soon be avenged. Balti was commander of TTP and he served as group's spokesman from 2011 to 2015. That's when he was arrested in Afghanistan and was freed after Taliban seized power.  

Since then, the TTP has been emboldened.Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is an umbrella group and is a separate organization from Afghanistan's Taliban. In November, Pakistan announced a month-long cease-fire with TTP. The group has been behind numerous attacks on security forces and civilians over last 14 years.