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ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the recently launched South Asia branch of al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the September 6, 2014 mystery murder of an ISI Brigadier, Zahoor Fazal Qadri, and his brother, in Sargodha.
The responsibility has been claimed in a statement released by Usama Mahmood, the spokesman of al-Qaeda’s sub-continent chapter, who had earlier claimed the defence day (September 6, 2014) terrorist attack on the PNS Karachi Naval Dockyard. The ISI Brigadier, who had also served in Waziristan region in the past on an important assignment, and his brother were killed at Astana Fazal - a Sufi shrine situated in the suburbs of Sargodha, where deprived and needy are provided free food, medicines and religious education. Brig Zahoor Fazal Qadri, who was off-duty when targeted, became the Gaddi Nasheen of the shrine in 2012 following the death of his father. His brother, Zahoor Fazal Subhani, who was also killed in the attack, used to look after the Astana Fazal Shrine’s affairs.
The deceased Brigadier, who was posted at the ISI Directorate in the federal capital, was reportedly on the hit list of the militants. The Sargodha Cantonment police station has registered FIR No 417 under various sections, including 302, 324, 392 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) along with Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) on a complaint filed by Masood Ahmad, brother-in-law of Brigadier Zahoor, against four unidentified assailants. The attackers had reached the crime scene on two motorcycles on September 6, 2014. Two assassins targeted the Brigadier, who was presiding over a Sufi gathering (Mefil-e-Samaa) at that time in the main hall of the shrine’s building, and his brother, with 9mm pistols while two other Kalashnikov-totting assailants provided cover to the attackers. The two brothers died on the spot while two others expired later after being shifted to a Faisalabad hospital in critical condition. Six others who had received bullet injuries included Brigadier’s gunmen Amjad Mahmood, Mohammad Azim, Ahsanul Haq, Qaiser Abbas, Mohammad Zafar and Asghar Ali who are being treated at the DHQ Hospital, Sargodha. The police was largely clueless about the assassins, considering it a case of sectarian killing, before al-Qaeda spokesman in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Usama Mahmood posted a press release on the official letter head of the terrorist group, claiming responsibility for the attack, saying they have avenged the killing of innocent people in Waziristan.
“The Sargodha attack should be taken as a warning by the slaves of [the United States of] America in the Pakistani Armed Forces to leave the US-backed ‘war on terror’ or get ready to face the consequences”, so said AQIS spokesman Usama Mahmood in his Urdu statement, which has been reproduced on The Long War Journal Website.
Brigadier Zahoor Fazal Qadri is not the first high profile army officer to have been martyred by al-Qaeda-linked militants for fighting against terrorists in Waziristan area. On November 19, 2008, Major Gen Ameer Faisal Alvi, a former two-star general and the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s Special Service Group, was shot dead in his car in Islamabad. Once considered close to General Pervez Musharraf, Alvi was the first Pakistani Major General to have captained the prestigious Armed Forces Skydiving Team (AFST) as a General Officer Commanding. But he was forcibly retired from the Pakistan Army on disciplinary grounds ‘for conduct unbecoming’ by then Army Chief General Musharraf in August 2005.
Subsequent investigations and the arrest of a former ISI Major had revealed that Alvi’s murder was masterminded by Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, the now deceased chief of the Azad Kashmir chapter of the al-Qaeda-linked Harkatul Jehadul Islami. After his arrest, Major (Retd) Haroon Ashiq, the former ISI official, confessed having killed Major Gen Ameer Faisal Alvi at the behest of Commander Ilyas Kashmiri who also used to head 313 Brigade in North Waziristan. Kashmiri was later killed in a US drone attack on June 3, 2011 in South Waziristan.
In fact, Major General Alvi had supervised “Operation Mountain Lion”, carried out by American and British troops on the Pak-Afghan tribal border belt. The operation on the Pakistani side of the border was conducted with the help of the Special Services Group commandos to track down fugitive al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. In one such military operation carried out in the Angoor Adda area of Waziristan in October 2003, a special SSG unit led by Maj Gen Faisal Alvi had reportedly killed 12 suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and arrested 14 others.
At a subsequent media briefing, Maj Gen Alvi, the commander of the operation, had stated while showing the seized weapons to reporters: “Our guys are trying to flush out the militants. We are having problems actually flushing them out, because they are putting on strong resistance. Some of those arrested appeared to be from Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban regime. Most of the guys we have encountered so far here are foreigners hailing from different nationalities. You see those guys sitting under the tree, those prisoners we have taken, they are all foreigners and we have four dead foreigners lying here. The dead and most of the prisoners appear to be Arab nationals. A large cache of arms and basic surveillance equipment has also been seized from their compounds”.
Al-Qaeda claims slaying of ISI brigadier - thenews.com.pk
The responsibility has been claimed in a statement released by Usama Mahmood, the spokesman of al-Qaeda’s sub-continent chapter, who had earlier claimed the defence day (September 6, 2014) terrorist attack on the PNS Karachi Naval Dockyard. The ISI Brigadier, who had also served in Waziristan region in the past on an important assignment, and his brother were killed at Astana Fazal - a Sufi shrine situated in the suburbs of Sargodha, where deprived and needy are provided free food, medicines and religious education. Brig Zahoor Fazal Qadri, who was off-duty when targeted, became the Gaddi Nasheen of the shrine in 2012 following the death of his father. His brother, Zahoor Fazal Subhani, who was also killed in the attack, used to look after the Astana Fazal Shrine’s affairs.
The deceased Brigadier, who was posted at the ISI Directorate in the federal capital, was reportedly on the hit list of the militants. The Sargodha Cantonment police station has registered FIR No 417 under various sections, including 302, 324, 392 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) along with Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) on a complaint filed by Masood Ahmad, brother-in-law of Brigadier Zahoor, against four unidentified assailants. The attackers had reached the crime scene on two motorcycles on September 6, 2014. Two assassins targeted the Brigadier, who was presiding over a Sufi gathering (Mefil-e-Samaa) at that time in the main hall of the shrine’s building, and his brother, with 9mm pistols while two other Kalashnikov-totting assailants provided cover to the attackers. The two brothers died on the spot while two others expired later after being shifted to a Faisalabad hospital in critical condition. Six others who had received bullet injuries included Brigadier’s gunmen Amjad Mahmood, Mohammad Azim, Ahsanul Haq, Qaiser Abbas, Mohammad Zafar and Asghar Ali who are being treated at the DHQ Hospital, Sargodha. The police was largely clueless about the assassins, considering it a case of sectarian killing, before al-Qaeda spokesman in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Usama Mahmood posted a press release on the official letter head of the terrorist group, claiming responsibility for the attack, saying they have avenged the killing of innocent people in Waziristan.
“The Sargodha attack should be taken as a warning by the slaves of [the United States of] America in the Pakistani Armed Forces to leave the US-backed ‘war on terror’ or get ready to face the consequences”, so said AQIS spokesman Usama Mahmood in his Urdu statement, which has been reproduced on The Long War Journal Website.
Brigadier Zahoor Fazal Qadri is not the first high profile army officer to have been martyred by al-Qaeda-linked militants for fighting against terrorists in Waziristan area. On November 19, 2008, Major Gen Ameer Faisal Alvi, a former two-star general and the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s Special Service Group, was shot dead in his car in Islamabad. Once considered close to General Pervez Musharraf, Alvi was the first Pakistani Major General to have captained the prestigious Armed Forces Skydiving Team (AFST) as a General Officer Commanding. But he was forcibly retired from the Pakistan Army on disciplinary grounds ‘for conduct unbecoming’ by then Army Chief General Musharraf in August 2005.
Subsequent investigations and the arrest of a former ISI Major had revealed that Alvi’s murder was masterminded by Commander Ilyas Kashmiri, the now deceased chief of the Azad Kashmir chapter of the al-Qaeda-linked Harkatul Jehadul Islami. After his arrest, Major (Retd) Haroon Ashiq, the former ISI official, confessed having killed Major Gen Ameer Faisal Alvi at the behest of Commander Ilyas Kashmiri who also used to head 313 Brigade in North Waziristan. Kashmiri was later killed in a US drone attack on June 3, 2011 in South Waziristan.
In fact, Major General Alvi had supervised “Operation Mountain Lion”, carried out by American and British troops on the Pak-Afghan tribal border belt. The operation on the Pakistani side of the border was conducted with the help of the Special Services Group commandos to track down fugitive al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. In one such military operation carried out in the Angoor Adda area of Waziristan in October 2003, a special SSG unit led by Maj Gen Faisal Alvi had reportedly killed 12 suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and arrested 14 others.
At a subsequent media briefing, Maj Gen Alvi, the commander of the operation, had stated while showing the seized weapons to reporters: “Our guys are trying to flush out the militants. We are having problems actually flushing them out, because they are putting on strong resistance. Some of those arrested appeared to be from Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban regime. Most of the guys we have encountered so far here are foreigners hailing from different nationalities. You see those guys sitting under the tree, those prisoners we have taken, they are all foreigners and we have four dead foreigners lying here. The dead and most of the prisoners appear to be Arab nationals. A large cache of arms and basic surveillance equipment has also been seized from their compounds”.
Al-Qaeda claims slaying of ISI brigadier - thenews.com.pk
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