Gunmen Assassinate Afghan Taliban Leader In Quetta

Islamabad, Dec 28, IRNA - Afghan Taliban say unknown gunmen have shot dead their senior leader in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Noorullah Hotak was assassinated in Quetta on Thursday near his residence, a Taliban leader said Friday. Hotak was a senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan and was currently in-charge of a Taliban commission in Zabul province which accommodates those government officials and security personnel who join the group. Taliban sources said that Hotak came under attack by unidentified gunmen Thursday afternoon and died at the scene. The gunmen escaped from the crime scene. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Afghan sources say Hotak had been leading the Taliban fighters in parts of Zabul province. Hotak is the second Afghan Taliban commander who has been killed in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Earlier Mulla Ismail had also been killed by unidentified gunmen./end