Sarbakaf Mohmand, a senior commander of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction and the head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s political commission, was reportedly injured by firing from unknown assailants near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Sunday.
Mohmand was travelling with two other accomplices when their vehicle was attacked at the border between Mohmand district in Pakistan and Kunar province in Afghanistan.
Local sources told Khabar Kada that the attackers lay in weight for Mohmand and ambushed him in an ‘extremely organised faction’. According to the sources, Mohmand has received serious injuries and the men travelling with him were also hit.
However, Mohmand and his group still managed to escape from the area. All three have been shifted to an unknown location where are they said to be receiving medical treatment.
Security analysts believe that the incident could be just another episode in the turf war between the numerous TTP factions, especially the JuA.
One analyst told Khabar Kada that the incident should be seen in the context of a recent ‘execution’ of Khyber district trader by the JuA over charges of spying after he had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the TTP’s central leadership.
TTP’s leadership issued a public condemnation of the execution by the JuA, sparking a war of words. In response, the JuA stood by the decision to execute the trader, accusing the central leadership of being detached from ground realities.
“Already fingers are being raised at the involvement of TTP head Mufti Noor Wali. It should also be recalled that JuA had previously blamed Noor Wali for killing of their leader (Omar) Khorasani in Afghanistan,” the analyst told Khabar Kada.
After the death of Omar Khorasani, the JuA had openly accused TTP Chief Noor Wali of being behind the killing. The JuA had also accused Noor Wali of demoting two of its leaders from key positions, allegedly because of their demands for an investigation into Omar Khorasani’s killing. One of the demoted leaders was Sarbakaf Mohmand, who was injured on Sunday.
“Mufti Noor Wali is also engaged in tussle with Hafiz Gul Bhahadur group and the two groups has been in a race for territorial influence in Waziristan,” the analyst said.
The TTP has increasingly tried to reorient itself as a territorial movement with limited ambitions compared to the past. However, this move has been accompanied by an increase in turf wars within the many factions of the group.
In June 2023, various news outlets had reported that Mohmand had died under ‘mysterious circumstances’ with speculations about possible a possible poisoning by a rival group. However, the reports were later proven false.
