On 30 January, two senior members of TTP were shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kabul, Afghanistan. The deceased were identified to be Sheikh Khalid Haqqani and Qari Saif Younis and their bodies were found in the vicinity of Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. Sheikh Khalid Haqqani held key position in the TTP leadership council, and formerly served as the group's deputy leader. He was accused of being involved in several high-profile attacks on Pakistani politicians and an attack on school in Peshawar in 2014. Qari Saif Younis was a military commander in TTP and directed suicide operations. According to one militant source, the men were planning to hold a secret "meeting" in Kabul, on the direct orders of the group's leadership, apparently travelling from the eastern Afghan province of Paktika. The militants did not reveal who they were planning on meeting. Both the TTP members were killed on 30 January, however, their death was confirmed on 7 February by the TTP leadership. The TTP leadership had initially ordered the news to be kept "secret", partly as they were rattled by the assassinations, and partly to avoid awkward questions about why the men were in the city.