Despite publicly scorning the claims that the Pakistani Taliban are using the Kunar Province as a safe haven for attacks against Swat Valley and Bajaur, NATO is clearly taking the threat seriously, launching a new strike today in Kunar targeting an apparent ground of Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Bajaur militants.

The attack killed 12 people, and according to reports from Pakistani and Afghan officials, Mullah Dadullah, the leader of the TTP-Bajaur was among the dead. NATO said they couldn’t confirm Dadullah’s death.

Pakistani officials provided additional details about the strike, saying the militants were targeted after a cross-border raid, during which two pro-government militia fighters were killed in Bajaur.

The TTP has not commented yet on the reported killing, and it isn’t clear how closely tied they are to the Bajaur auxiliary, which has been declared “dead” several times by Pakistani security forces only to reemerge out of the borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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