At least 18 people were killed on Wednesday in a clash between two armed groups in the Kurram region of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police confirmed.
Authorities said the incident has been verified, but did not release further details.
In a statement, Asad Mansoor, spokesperson for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar militant group, claimed that 18 of their members were killed in an attack carried out by a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan led by Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud. He added that “retaliation is now obligatory.”
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has not yet issued any response regarding the incident.
Security analysts say the clash is one of the deadliest internal conflicts among Pakistani Taliban factions in recent years.
