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US drone kills al-Qaida No. 2 in Pakistan
Source: Agencies |
December 10, 2012, Monday
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A US drone strike has killed a senior al-Qaida leader in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said, in the latest blow to the global terrorist network.
Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, who was also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed when missiles slammed into a house last Thursday near Mir Ali, one of the main town's in the North Waziristan tribal area, the officials said.
Al-Kuwaiti earlier this year replaced Abu Yahya al-Libi, al-Qaida's No. 2 man, who was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan in June.
But al-Kuwaiti appeared to be much less widely known and was not part of the US State Department's list of most wanted terrorists, as al-Libi had been.
Covert CIA drone strikes have killed several senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan's tribal region over the past few years. But the attacks are controversial because the secret nature of the program makes it hard to determine how many civilians are being killed.
Pakistani officials often criticize the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, which has helped make them extremely unpopular in the country.
Al-Kuwaiti's wife and daughter were wounded in Thursday's drone attack, according to the intelligence officials. His wife died a day later at a hospital in Miran Shah, another main town in North Waziristan.
Al-Kuwaiti was buried in Tappi village near Mir Ali on Friday, the officials said.
A Pakistani Taliban commander who frequently visits North Waziristan said he met some Arab fighters on Saturday who were "very aggrieved." The Arabs told him they lost a "big leader" in a drone strike, but would not reveal his name or his exact position in al-Qaida.
Al-Qaida's central leadership in Pakistan has been dealt a series of sharp blows in the past few years, including the US commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last year. A significant number of senior al-Qaida leaders have also been killed in US drone attacks in the country.
Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, who was also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed when missiles slammed into a house last Thursday near Mir Ali, one of the main town's in the North Waziristan tribal area, the officials said.
Al-Kuwaiti earlier this year replaced Abu Yahya al-Libi, al-Qaida's No. 2 man, who was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan in June.
But al-Kuwaiti appeared to be much less widely known and was not part of the US State Department's list of most wanted terrorists, as al-Libi had been.
Covert CIA drone strikes have killed several senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan's tribal region over the past few years. But the attacks are controversial because the secret nature of the program makes it hard to determine how many civilians are being killed.
Pakistani officials often criticize the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, which has helped make them extremely unpopular in the country.
Al-Kuwaiti's wife and daughter were wounded in Thursday's drone attack, according to the intelligence officials. His wife died a day later at a hospital in Miran Shah, another main town in North Waziristan.
Al-Kuwaiti was buried in Tappi village near Mir Ali on Friday, the officials said.
A Pakistani Taliban commander who frequently visits North Waziristan said he met some Arab fighters on Saturday who were "very aggrieved." The Arabs told him they lost a "big leader" in a drone strike, but would not reveal his name or his exact position in al-Qaida.
Al-Qaida's central leadership in Pakistan has been dealt a series of sharp blows in the past few years, including the US commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last year. A significant number of senior al-Qaida leaders have also been killed in US drone attacks in the country.
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