Pakistani security forces say they have killed a Taliban commander who they believe facilitated the Peshawar school massacre of nearly 150 people, mostly children.
The commander has been named by local media as "Saddam", and was killed in a shootout with security forces in the Khyber tribal area which borders Peshawar.
"Commander Saddam was a dreaded terrorist, who was killed in an exchange of fire with the security forces in Jamrud town of Khyber tribal region," top local administration official Shahab Ali Shah told a press conference.
"Six of his accomplices were injured and arrested."
He added that Saddam is believed to have facilitated the Peshawar school attack, although the extent or capacity of his alleged involvement was not yet known.
"Authorities are currently interrogating the injured terrorists," Mr Shah told reporters in Peshawar.
He described Saddam as an important commander in the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and said he had masterminded several bomb attacks.
Saddam and his accomplices had been involved in several recent attacks on security forces that had resulted in heavy casualties, according to officials.
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