ISLAMABAD: The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan confirmed on Monday the death of its deputy chief Khan Said Mehsud, alias Sajna.

According to a statement, Sajna was killed in an American drone strike on February 8. The TTP Mehsud Halqa have appointed Mufti Noorwali Mehsud as acting chief of their faction.

Earlier, reports suggested that Sajna was among two men taken down in the US strike. However, another report claimed that the US drone strike was conducted inside Afghan territory and it had killed at least three suspected militants linked with the Afghan Haqqani Network.

Recently, the terrorist attacks by the Taliban had increased in Afghanistan leading the US to consider “unilateral steps in areas of divergence” to counter the militants.