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April 26th, 2024 | 11:45 PM ET

Implications of Top Pakistani Taliban Leader’s Death

Posted: July 14th, 2016

The leader of one of the deadliest factions within the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Omar Mansoor, was killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan on Wednesday, U.S. officials and the Pakistani military announced. Mansoor was one of Pakistan’s most wanted and brutal militants and was the mastermind behind the 2014 attack on a Pakistani military school that left more than 140 dead. He also claimed responsibility for January’s attack on Bacha Khan University in northwestern Pakistan, which resulted in the deaths of 21 people.

Kevin Hulbert, Cipher Brief expert and former CIA Chief of Station, does not expect Mansoor’s death to result in a major setback for the TTP. While Wednesday’s airstrike “demonstrates the United States’ resolve in targeting Taliban leaders, it will likely have a minimal impact on the TTP’s operational capacity,” he explains.

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