Haqqani cousin killed in Tuesday's drone strike
MIRAMSHAH: An Afghan Taliban commander and close relative of Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani was among those killed in a recent US missile strike, Pakistani security officials said Wednesday.
A US drone fired two missiles into a vehicle in Qutabkhel village in North Waziristan tribal district on Tuesday, killing four militants.
Afghan Taliban commander Saifullah travelled to the region from Afghanistan three days ago and was killed in yesterday's US missile strike, a senior security official in the area told AFP.
The information was based on intelligence intercepts, the official said.
He described Saifullah as the first cousin of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who runs the Haqqani network created by his father, Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The network is based in North Waziristan, a known hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants just across the border from Afghanistan.
The group is blamed for fuelling the nine-year insurgency in Afghanistan; attacking US-led Nato troops and working to destabilise the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Another Pakistani security official confirmed Saifullah's death.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Haqqani cousin killed in Tuesday's drone strike
US drones target Haqqani network in Pakistan
Apparently frustrated over Pakistan military's inaction against the dreaded Haqqani network, the US has unleashed a wave of drone attacks killing dozens of militants in North Waziristan this month.
Since September 2, there have been 13 strikes by unmanned spy planes in North Waziristan the highest number in a month since the US began using drones to hit targets in Pakistan in 2004, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The number of drone strikes this year has already crossed 70, the highest figure for a single year.
There were two attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed 32 militants including Commander Saifullah, a cousin of Sirajuddin, a son of Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The US is hoping to downgrade the operational capabilities of the Haqqani group, which it considers the most lethal militant outfit in Afghanistan.
Military sources were quoted by the Dawn as saying that an operation in North Waziristan had been delayed because the Pakistan Army is preoccupied with fighting militancy in other tribal areas and flood relief efforts.
This window was fully exploited by the Haqqani group to intensify its activities, defence analysts said.
"The Americans want to check that freedom of space available to the Haqqanis through intensified drone attacks," a source said.
The daily reported there were "few takers for the Pakistani explanation" about the delay in launching an operation in North Waziristan and many described the delay as tactical.
Pakistan had in June initiated efforts to secure a place for the Haqqani group in post-war Afghanistan by working out a rapprochement between the network and the Hamid Karzai government.
US opposition to the initiative halted the move.
Sources said Pakistan would make fresh moves to discuss peace with the Haqqanis, in the context of the overall reconciliation plan, during Afghan President Hamid Karzai's current visit to Pakistan. Karzai arrived in Islamabad yesterday on a two-day visit.
The pattern of the drone attacks this month showed that the primary target was the Haqqani network, though its host commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar and foreign militants of al-Qaeda have also been targeted.
The drone strikes this month have predominantly been in Miranshah sub-division, where the Haqqani network's headquarters are based and where the group carries out its financial dealings, acquisition of weapons and strategic planning.
Five of the attacks occurred in Datta Khel, which is home to Gul Bahadar's Uthmanzai Wazir clan.
Dandey Darpa Khel, the scene of several drone attacks, is where members of Jalaluddin Haqqani's family live.
Gul Bahadar, who leads the other major militant group in North Waziristan, provides the Haqqanis the tribal support they lack and gives them passage to the border.
The US, while targeting the Haqqanis, is pursuing the "hammer and anvil approach".
Alongside the spike in drone attacks, US Special Forces have launched an intense operation against the group in eastern Afghanistan, killing a number of its commanders.
The Haqqani network has been the focus of US action for the past two years. After the December 2009 suicide attack on a CIA forward base in Khost, the network again came under renewed focus.
In this unprecedented intense bombardment by drones, Pakistani military officials see a shift in US policy in Afghanistan from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism.
They said the US, notwithstanding international denunciation of drone attacks, feels encouraged because the strikes have killed second and third tier leaders of militant groups.
More than 1,200 militants have been killed in over 130 drone strikes since August 2008. Those killed include Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, al-Qaeda's no. 3 Abu Mustafa al-Yazeed and some other top operatives of the terror group.
US drones target Haqqani network in Pakistan - World - DNA
Haqqani facilitator captured in Khost province overnight
By ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition security forces captured a Haqqani Network facilitator, along with several insurgents, during overnight operations in Khost province.
Intelligence sources led the first combined security force to a compound in the village of Gotkay in Bak district to search for a Haqqani facilitator involved in coordinating attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and kidnapping local nationals.
Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to exit the compound peacefully and then secured the area. After initial questioning of the residents on scene, the security force identified the facilitator and two of his associates hiding in a field and detained them without incident.
A separate combined security force went to the village of Kabal Kala in neighboring Terayzai district to search for another Haqqani facilitator mainly involved in gathering IED materials and carrying out attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces.
After the Afghan-led call-out, the security force cleared the compound and secured the area. The security force detained suspected insurgents after initial questioning of the residents at the scene.
The security force did not fire their weapons and they protected the women and children for the duration of the searches.
Haqqani facilitator captured in Khost province overnight
MIRAMSHAH: An Afghan Taliban commander and close relative of Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani was among those killed in a recent US missile strike, Pakistani security officials said Wednesday.
A US drone fired two missiles into a vehicle in Qutabkhel village in North Waziristan tribal district on Tuesday, killing four militants.
Afghan Taliban commander Saifullah travelled to the region from Afghanistan three days ago and was killed in yesterday's US missile strike, a senior security official in the area told AFP.
The information was based on intelligence intercepts, the official said.
He described Saifullah as the first cousin of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who runs the Haqqani network created by his father, Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The network is based in North Waziristan, a known hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants just across the border from Afghanistan.
The group is blamed for fuelling the nine-year insurgency in Afghanistan; attacking US-led Nato troops and working to destabilise the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Another Pakistani security official confirmed Saifullah's death.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Haqqani cousin killed in Tuesday's drone strike
US drones target Haqqani network in Pakistan
Apparently frustrated over Pakistan military's inaction against the dreaded Haqqani network, the US has unleashed a wave of drone attacks killing dozens of militants in North Waziristan this month.
Since September 2, there have been 13 strikes by unmanned spy planes in North Waziristan the highest number in a month since the US began using drones to hit targets in Pakistan in 2004, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The number of drone strikes this year has already crossed 70, the highest figure for a single year.
There were two attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed 32 militants including Commander Saifullah, a cousin of Sirajuddin, a son of Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The US is hoping to downgrade the operational capabilities of the Haqqani group, which it considers the most lethal militant outfit in Afghanistan.
Military sources were quoted by the Dawn as saying that an operation in North Waziristan had been delayed because the Pakistan Army is preoccupied with fighting militancy in other tribal areas and flood relief efforts.
This window was fully exploited by the Haqqani group to intensify its activities, defence analysts said.
"The Americans want to check that freedom of space available to the Haqqanis through intensified drone attacks," a source said.
The daily reported there were "few takers for the Pakistani explanation" about the delay in launching an operation in North Waziristan and many described the delay as tactical.
Pakistan had in June initiated efforts to secure a place for the Haqqani group in post-war Afghanistan by working out a rapprochement between the network and the Hamid Karzai government.
US opposition to the initiative halted the move.
Sources said Pakistan would make fresh moves to discuss peace with the Haqqanis, in the context of the overall reconciliation plan, during Afghan President Hamid Karzai's current visit to Pakistan. Karzai arrived in Islamabad yesterday on a two-day visit.
The pattern of the drone attacks this month showed that the primary target was the Haqqani network, though its host commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar and foreign militants of al-Qaeda have also been targeted.
The drone strikes this month have predominantly been in Miranshah sub-division, where the Haqqani network's headquarters are based and where the group carries out its financial dealings, acquisition of weapons and strategic planning.
Five of the attacks occurred in Datta Khel, which is home to Gul Bahadar's Uthmanzai Wazir clan.
Dandey Darpa Khel, the scene of several drone attacks, is where members of Jalaluddin Haqqani's family live.
Gul Bahadar, who leads the other major militant group in North Waziristan, provides the Haqqanis the tribal support they lack and gives them passage to the border.
The US, while targeting the Haqqanis, is pursuing the "hammer and anvil approach".
Alongside the spike in drone attacks, US Special Forces have launched an intense operation against the group in eastern Afghanistan, killing a number of its commanders.
The Haqqani network has been the focus of US action for the past two years. After the December 2009 suicide attack on a CIA forward base in Khost, the network again came under renewed focus.
In this unprecedented intense bombardment by drones, Pakistani military officials see a shift in US policy in Afghanistan from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism.
They said the US, notwithstanding international denunciation of drone attacks, feels encouraged because the strikes have killed second and third tier leaders of militant groups.
More than 1,200 militants have been killed in over 130 drone strikes since August 2008. Those killed include Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, al-Qaeda's no. 3 Abu Mustafa al-Yazeed and some other top operatives of the terror group.
US drones target Haqqani network in Pakistan - World - DNA
Haqqani facilitator captured in Khost province overnight
By ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition security forces captured a Haqqani Network facilitator, along with several insurgents, during overnight operations in Khost province.
Intelligence sources led the first combined security force to a compound in the village of Gotkay in Bak district to search for a Haqqani facilitator involved in coordinating attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and kidnapping local nationals.
Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to exit the compound peacefully and then secured the area. After initial questioning of the residents on scene, the security force identified the facilitator and two of his associates hiding in a field and detained them without incident.
A separate combined security force went to the village of Kabal Kala in neighboring Terayzai district to search for another Haqqani facilitator mainly involved in gathering IED materials and carrying out attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces.
After the Afghan-led call-out, the security force cleared the compound and secured the area. The security force detained suspected insurgents after initial questioning of the residents at the scene.
The security force did not fire their weapons and they protected the women and children for the duration of the searches.
Haqqani facilitator captured in Khost province overnight
