The Pakistan army said Monday that a senior Pakistani Taliban leader Ehsanullah Ehsan has surrendered to security forces.

Army spokesman Asif Ghafoor disclosed this at a news conference at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province.

Ehsan was a former spokesman of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and he later joined the splinter Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and used to claim responsibility for attacks in Pakistan.

The surrender of Ehsan is a serious setback for militants as he was one of the top leaders.

The army spokesman did not elaborate on how Ehsan surrendered.

The TTP branch has not yet reacted to the information.

source: Xinhua