Azam Tariq or Rais Khan (died 25 September 2016) was a spokesperson for the

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...

(TTP) and the fourth-highest ranking commander in the group. The TTP chose him as its spokesman after his predecessor, Maulvi Umar, who was detained by

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

i authorities in August 2009. For his first act as spokesman, he claimed responsibility on behalf of the TTP for a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint along the Pakistan-Afghan border near

Torkham Torkham (; ps, , translit=tūrxam) is a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan, located along the Grand Trunk Road on the international border between the two countries. It connects Nangarhar province of A ...

on August 27, 2009. Tariq said by telephone that the attack was the first in retaliation for the death of

Baitullah Mehsud Baitullah Mehsud ( Pashto/ ur, ; – 5 August 2009) was one of founder and a leading member of TTP in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant gr ...

, the militant group's first leader. Although the exact number of casualties was unknown, a doctor at a nearby hospital told Dawn News that they had received 22 bodies and local people working at the blast site said they had retrieved 13 bodies. In August 2010 Tariq referred to the presence of foreign aid organizations providing relief in response to massive flooding as "unacceptable." He had a 20 million rupee (US$190,740) bounty on his head. In May 2014, he and other militants based in

South Waziristan South Waziristan District ( ps, سويلي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) was a district in Dera Ismail Khan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before splitting in to Lower South Waziristan District and Upper South Waziristan District and ...

split from the main TTP and formed their own faction led by Khan Said Sajna. On 25 September 2016, Pakistani security sources stated that Tariq and his son, Shafiullah had been killed along with two other TTP leaders in airstrikes carried out by Afghan forces and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in Barmal District,

Paktia Province Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. His death along with that of his son was confirmed by Zeeshan Haider Mehsud, advisor to TTP's Khan Said Sajna faction.

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* Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members Pashtun people Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Taliban spokespersons Year of birth missing (living people) {{Pakistan-paramilitary-bio-stub