This Article is From Mar 13, 2015

Militant Group Lashkar-i-Islam Merges with Pakistan Taliban

Militant Group Lashkar-i-Islam Merges with Pakistan Taliban

File Photo: Militants of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. (Associated Press)

Islamabad:

Militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) has merged with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as part of a re-organisation plan, a media report said today.

According to a statement issued by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, the re-organised TTP would consist of members of his group, Lashkar-i-Islam and the TTP, Dawn online reported.

The head of the new set-up is yet to be named, he added.

Ehsan congratulated what he called the "Mujahideen of Pakistan". He said the decision to unify the militant groups was taken at a meeting attended by TTP leaders Mulla Fazlullah, Omar Khalid Khurasani and LI leader Mangal Bagh.

The militants announced the unification at a time when security forces are making significant gains against them in military operations in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency, which were once considered their bastions.

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