A key commander of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was reportedly among the five militants killed in the bomb blast in Pakistan's Lower Orakzai tribal region on Thursday night.
According to Dawn, official sources said the explosion took place inside a house in Out Mela area of Orakzai agency, destroying the building and killing the five suspected militants inside, including Amir Salam, a key Taliban commander.
Orakzai agency was reportedly known to be a stronghold of Taliban militants and a cricial sanctuary of former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud before he was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan.
The Pakistani security forces, who have been combating militants in Orakzai for years, claim that they have wiped out terrorist bases in upper and lower Orakzai since the military commenced its operations in the region three years back.
