Nazjaz
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 20, 2011
- 7,684
- 8,832
Al-Qaida militant killed in US strike in
Pakistan
By ISHTIAQ MEHSUD
AP
A top al-Qaida commander and possible
replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed
in an American drone-fired missile strike
close to the Afghan border, a fax from the
militant group he heads and a Pakistani
intelligence official said Saturday.
Ilyas Kashmiri's apparent death is another
blow to al-Qaida just over a month after bin
Laden was killed by American commandos
in a northwest Pakistani army town.
Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida's
military operations chief in Pakistan, the 47-
year-old Pakistani was one of five most-
wanted militant leaders in the country,
accused of a string of bloody attacks in
South Asia, including the 2008 Mumbai
massacre, as well as aiding plots in the
West. Washington had offered a $5 million
bounty for information leading to his
location.
His death was not confirmed publicly by the
United States or Pakistani officials. Verifying
who has been killed in the drone strikes is
difficult. Initial reports have turned out to be
wrong in the past, including one in
September 2009 that said Kashmiri had
been killed. Sometimes they are never
formally denied or confirmed by authorities
here or in the United States.
But a fax from the militant group he was
heading Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami's
feared "313 Brigade" confirmed Kashmiri
was "martyred" in the strike at 11:15 p.m.
Friday in South Waziristan tribal region. It
was sent to journalists in Peshawar.
"God willing, America, which is the
'pharaoh' of this, will soon see a revenge
attack, and our real target is America," it
said. The statement was handwritten
written on a white page bearing name of
the group, which has not previously
communicated with the media.
The Pakistani official also said Kashmiri was
among nine militants killed in the strike. He
spoke on condition of anonymity in line
with his agency's policy. On Friday night,
officials said several missiles hit a
compound. The official Saturday said the
men were meeting in an apple orchard near
the house when the missiles hit.
Kashmiri's name was on a list of militants
that the United States and Pakistan recently
agreed to jointly target, officials have said.
The successful strike could help repair ties
between the two countries that were badly
damaged by the unilateral American raid,
especially if Islamabad helped provide
intelligence leading up to the attack.
Said to be blind in one eye and missing a
finger, Kashmiri was one of the country's
most accomplished and vicious
militants. He fought with jihadi fighters in
Afghanistan and in Indian-held Kashmir in
the 1990s and was so close to al-Qaida's
central command that he had been
mentioned as a contender for replacing bin
Laden, though many analysts thought the
fact that he was not an Arab meant he was
unlikely to get the post.
Indian officials have alleged he was involved
in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more
than 160 people. He has also been named a
defendant in an American court over a
planned attack on a Danish newspaper that
published cartoons depicting the Prophet
Muhammad in 2005.
In an ongoing terror trial in Chicago,
testimony from an American-Pakistani
militant has alleged that Kashmiri helped
plan the Mumbai siege and wanted to attack
U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
Kashmiri had been angry over U.S. drone
attacks inside Pakistan and wanted to
target the company, David Coleman Headley
testified.
Kashmiri has most recently been linked to
last month's 18-hour assault on a naval
base in Karachi. He is also accused of
masterminding several bloody raids on
Pakistan police and intelligence buildings in
2009 and 2010, as well as a failed
assassination attempt against then-
President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
The U.S Department of State says he
organized a 2006 suicide bombing against
the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four
people, including an American diplomat.
American drones began firing missiles at al-
Qaida and Taliban targets along the border
in 2005, but the attacks picked up pace in
2008 and have risen in frequency ever
since. Pakistani army officers and politicians
publicly protest them, too weak to admit to
working with the ever unpopular America
in targeting fellow Pakistanis, but the
country's intelligence agencies have been
known to occasionally provide targeting
information.
Opposition to the strikes grew this year
after a CIA contractor shot and killed two
Pakistanis in the street, triggering ever
more intense anti-American anger. After the
bin Laden raid, which was seen by many
here as an outrageous violation of the
country's sovereignty, the parliament issued
a declaration calling for the attacks to end.
Pakistani leaders were not immediately
available for comment on Friday's attack.
Kashmiri was accused of killing many
Pakistanis, including police and army
officers, so their public reaction may be
muted.
The United States does not acknowledge
the CIA-run program, though its officials
have confirmed the death of high-value
targets before, including the head of the
Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009
a strike welcomed by many Pakistan
officials because he too was a sworn enemy
of the country.
Washington says the strikes are accurately
killing militants and are disrupting plots
against the West as well as planned attacks
on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistan
By ISHTIAQ MEHSUD
AP
A top al-Qaida commander and possible
replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed
in an American drone-fired missile strike
close to the Afghan border, a fax from the
militant group he heads and a Pakistani
intelligence official said Saturday.
Ilyas Kashmiri's apparent death is another
blow to al-Qaida just over a month after bin
Laden was killed by American commandos
in a northwest Pakistani army town.
Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida's
military operations chief in Pakistan, the 47-
year-old Pakistani was one of five most-
wanted militant leaders in the country,
accused of a string of bloody attacks in
South Asia, including the 2008 Mumbai
massacre, as well as aiding plots in the
West. Washington had offered a $5 million
bounty for information leading to his
location.
His death was not confirmed publicly by the
United States or Pakistani officials. Verifying
who has been killed in the drone strikes is
difficult. Initial reports have turned out to be
wrong in the past, including one in
September 2009 that said Kashmiri had
been killed. Sometimes they are never
formally denied or confirmed by authorities
here or in the United States.
But a fax from the militant group he was
heading Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami's
feared "313 Brigade" confirmed Kashmiri
was "martyred" in the strike at 11:15 p.m.
Friday in South Waziristan tribal region. It
was sent to journalists in Peshawar.
"God willing, America, which is the
'pharaoh' of this, will soon see a revenge
attack, and our real target is America," it
said. The statement was handwritten
written on a white page bearing name of
the group, which has not previously
communicated with the media.
The Pakistani official also said Kashmiri was
among nine militants killed in the strike. He
spoke on condition of anonymity in line
with his agency's policy. On Friday night,
officials said several missiles hit a
compound. The official Saturday said the
men were meeting in an apple orchard near
the house when the missiles hit.
Kashmiri's name was on a list of militants
that the United States and Pakistan recently
agreed to jointly target, officials have said.
The successful strike could help repair ties
between the two countries that were badly
damaged by the unilateral American raid,
especially if Islamabad helped provide
intelligence leading up to the attack.
Said to be blind in one eye and missing a
finger, Kashmiri was one of the country's
most accomplished and vicious
militants. He fought with jihadi fighters in
Afghanistan and in Indian-held Kashmir in
the 1990s and was so close to al-Qaida's
central command that he had been
mentioned as a contender for replacing bin
Laden, though many analysts thought the
fact that he was not an Arab meant he was
unlikely to get the post.
Indian officials have alleged he was involved
in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more
than 160 people. He has also been named a
defendant in an American court over a
planned attack on a Danish newspaper that
published cartoons depicting the Prophet
Muhammad in 2005.
In an ongoing terror trial in Chicago,
testimony from an American-Pakistani
militant has alleged that Kashmiri helped
plan the Mumbai siege and wanted to attack
U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
Kashmiri had been angry over U.S. drone
attacks inside Pakistan and wanted to
target the company, David Coleman Headley
testified.
Kashmiri has most recently been linked to
last month's 18-hour assault on a naval
base in Karachi. He is also accused of
masterminding several bloody raids on
Pakistan police and intelligence buildings in
2009 and 2010, as well as a failed
assassination attempt against then-
President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
The U.S Department of State says he
organized a 2006 suicide bombing against
the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four
people, including an American diplomat.
American drones began firing missiles at al-
Qaida and Taliban targets along the border
in 2005, but the attacks picked up pace in
2008 and have risen in frequency ever
since. Pakistani army officers and politicians
publicly protest them, too weak to admit to
working with the ever unpopular America
in targeting fellow Pakistanis, but the
country's intelligence agencies have been
known to occasionally provide targeting
information.
Opposition to the strikes grew this year
after a CIA contractor shot and killed two
Pakistanis in the street, triggering ever
more intense anti-American anger. After the
bin Laden raid, which was seen by many
here as an outrageous violation of the
country's sovereignty, the parliament issued
a declaration calling for the attacks to end.
Pakistani leaders were not immediately
available for comment on Friday's attack.
Kashmiri was accused of killing many
Pakistanis, including police and army
officers, so their public reaction may be
muted.
The United States does not acknowledge
the CIA-run program, though its officials
have confirmed the death of high-value
targets before, including the head of the
Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009
a strike welcomed by many Pakistan
officials because he too was a sworn enemy
of the country.
Washington says the strikes are accurately
killing militants and are disrupting plots
against the West as well as planned attacks
on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
