Overview

• Pakistan identifies Mehsud, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief, as the figure directing near-daily attacks from Afghan soil.
• An airstrike in Kabul struck an armoured Land Cruiser believed to be carrying Mehsud, who is thought to have survived as his group released a purported audio message.
• Pakistan has not claimed responsibility for the Kabul strike, which would be the first reported in the city since the 2022 U.S. operation that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri.
• The Afghan Taliban denies sheltering the TTP and counters that Islamabad harbors the local Islamic State branch, underscoring deep mutual accusations.
• Under Mehsud since 2018, the TTP reunified factions and shifted to targeting security forces, attacks intensified after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, and recent tribal-mediated demands were rejected by Pakistani authorities.