Kabul: According to security sources of Pakistan, Asmatullah Shaheen a senior Pakistani Taliban commander has been shot dead. Asmatullah Shaheen was ambushed as he drove through a village near Miranshah in North Waziristan. Three aides in the vehicle also died. Shaheen was briefly the TTP (Pakistani Taliban) interim leader after its chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed last year. The attacks have taken place against a backdrop of continuing militant violence across Pakistan and a limited military operation against Taliban strongholds, despite attempts between the two sides to hold peace talks. Those talks broke down last week after a Taliban faction said it had killed 23 security force personnel in retaliation for the killing of militant fighters by the army. Shaheen, who is believed to have supported peace talks, is the most senior militant to die since Hakimullah Mehsud was killed.