Peshawar: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah’s death spread in the media early Monday.
The news later on disclaimed by spokesmen for different Taliban groups.
TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani claimed that reports regarding Fazlullah’s death were “absolutely baseless rumors”.
A spokesman for Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar also denied the report.
Military and independent sources also declined to confirm reports of the TTP supremo’s death in an offensive in Khyber agency’s Tirah valley.
On Saturday, the army’s public relations wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said at least 80 militants were killed and approximately 100 others injured in a major operation in Khyber.
News of the latest offensive was followed by widespread speculation about the presence of Fazlullah in the area at the time of the strikes.
However, there was no confirmation about his fate from official or military sources.