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Pakistani militants dealt severe blow in 2010
Monday, January 03, 2011
Mushtaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: The year 2010 proved to be heavy in terms of losses suffered by foreign and Pakistani militants operating in the two most volatile tribal regions of South Waziristan and North Waziristan.
The United States through the CIA-operated spy planes conducted 108 missile strikes, out of the total 114, in North Waziristan only and killed 726 people including local and foreign militants. Besides this huge loss, 109 people suffered injuries and many of them were maimed for life.
The unmanned US spy planes fired 311 missiles that mostly struck moving vehicles and houses reportedly being used by militants or their sympathisers.
Pakistani security officials as well as Taliban sources said the biggest loss for the militants last year was the killing of two prominent figures, al-Qaedas No 3 and a close aide to Osama bin Laden, Mustafa Ahmad Mohammad Uthman Abu al-Yazeed, also known as Sheikh Saeed al-Misri, and Pakistani militant commander Qari Hussain Ahmad, the master-trainer of suicide bombers and a right-hand man of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mahsud.
Both died in separate missile strikes in North Waziristan. Sheikh Saeed died on May 21 at Saidabad village near Land Mohammadkhel located in the border area of Dattakhel. During the missile attack, he was staying at a house in the village along with his family and two Arab guests.
The spy planes fired five missiles and killed Sheikh Saeed, some of his family members and the two Arab guests on the spot. Other members of his family and relatives living in an adjoining house sustained injuries. The global militant network, al-Qaeda, later confirmed the death of Sheikh Saeed.
An Egyptian by origin, Sheikh Saeed had replaced al-Qaedas senior commander Abu Laith al-Libbi, who too was killed along with 14 other Arab and tribal militants in the US drone attack on January 29, 2008 on a house in Khushali Torikhel village near Mir Ali town in North Waziristan.
The 56-year-old Sheikh Saeed was accused by the US of involvement in extremist movements for nearly 30 years after joining the radical militant group led by his fellow Egyptian Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Some Afghan Taliban, who had close links with Sheikh Saeed, found him a well-trained militant knowledgeable about the region, its people and traditions. He was laid to rest a graveyard in Dattakhel near the Afghan border.
For Pakistani Taliban and especially for TTP leader Hakimullah Mahsud, the death of top commander Qari Hussain must have come as a huge shock. The TTP has denied his death and is insisting that he is alive and operating in his native South Waziristan. During private conversations, close associates of Qari Hussain, the most ruthless and dreaded among the militants, have, however, confirmed his death.
Qari Hussain was known as Ustad-e-Fidayeen or teacher of suicide bombers among his fellow fighters. He was the first cousin of Hakimullah Mahsud and had been instrumental in elevating him to the position of chief of Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP sources said Qari Hussain was travelling in a car along with his three bodyguards at Khaisura village in Mir Ali subdivision when he came under attack from the US spy planes on October 7. Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition but the TTP leaders had no doubt that those killed in the missile strike were none other than Qari Hussain and his bodyguards.
The TTP sources said before his death Qari Hussain had survived two missile strikes in October and September last year. First, his car was struck by the drones on Miramshah-Dattakhel Road in September but he was travelling in another car on that occasion and four of his men were killed. He escaped another drone attack on October 4 when a suspected hideout of the militants was hit by the US Predator in Mir Ali bazaar where eight people including five German nationals were killed.
On that occasion, Qari Hussain was inside a room and was about to come out to join his other colleagues for dinner when the spy planes fired three missiles and struck the building. Some of his colleagues recalled that he had narrowly escaped in a similar attack on January 14 last year in South Waziristan. He was once declared dead by Pakistani military authorities during an operation in 2008 in South Waziristan, but the reports later proved to be untrue.
Besides nationals of other countries, it was the first time that two Britons were killed in the missile strikes in North Waziristan. They were identified as Stephen and Darry Smith and both had embraced Islam a few years ago. The 48-year-old Stephen became Abu Bakr while 25-year-old Darry Smith was named as Mansoor Ahmad. They arrived in North Waziristan in November 2009 and reportedly joined the al-Qaeda-associated Islamic Army of Great Britain (IAGB).
Pakistani militants dealt severe blow in 2010
Monday, January 03, 2011
Mushtaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: The year 2010 proved to be heavy in terms of losses suffered by foreign and Pakistani militants operating in the two most volatile tribal regions of South Waziristan and North Waziristan.
The United States through the CIA-operated spy planes conducted 108 missile strikes, out of the total 114, in North Waziristan only and killed 726 people including local and foreign militants. Besides this huge loss, 109 people suffered injuries and many of them were maimed for life.
The unmanned US spy planes fired 311 missiles that mostly struck moving vehicles and houses reportedly being used by militants or their sympathisers.
Pakistani security officials as well as Taliban sources said the biggest loss for the militants last year was the killing of two prominent figures, al-Qaedas No 3 and a close aide to Osama bin Laden, Mustafa Ahmad Mohammad Uthman Abu al-Yazeed, also known as Sheikh Saeed al-Misri, and Pakistani militant commander Qari Hussain Ahmad, the master-trainer of suicide bombers and a right-hand man of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mahsud.
Both died in separate missile strikes in North Waziristan. Sheikh Saeed died on May 21 at Saidabad village near Land Mohammadkhel located in the border area of Dattakhel. During the missile attack, he was staying at a house in the village along with his family and two Arab guests.
The spy planes fired five missiles and killed Sheikh Saeed, some of his family members and the two Arab guests on the spot. Other members of his family and relatives living in an adjoining house sustained injuries. The global militant network, al-Qaeda, later confirmed the death of Sheikh Saeed.
An Egyptian by origin, Sheikh Saeed had replaced al-Qaedas senior commander Abu Laith al-Libbi, who too was killed along with 14 other Arab and tribal militants in the US drone attack on January 29, 2008 on a house in Khushali Torikhel village near Mir Ali town in North Waziristan.
The 56-year-old Sheikh Saeed was accused by the US of involvement in extremist movements for nearly 30 years after joining the radical militant group led by his fellow Egyptian Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Some Afghan Taliban, who had close links with Sheikh Saeed, found him a well-trained militant knowledgeable about the region, its people and traditions. He was laid to rest a graveyard in Dattakhel near the Afghan border.
For Pakistani Taliban and especially for TTP leader Hakimullah Mahsud, the death of top commander Qari Hussain must have come as a huge shock. The TTP has denied his death and is insisting that he is alive and operating in his native South Waziristan. During private conversations, close associates of Qari Hussain, the most ruthless and dreaded among the militants, have, however, confirmed his death.
Qari Hussain was known as Ustad-e-Fidayeen or teacher of suicide bombers among his fellow fighters. He was the first cousin of Hakimullah Mahsud and had been instrumental in elevating him to the position of chief of Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP sources said Qari Hussain was travelling in a car along with his three bodyguards at Khaisura village in Mir Ali subdivision when he came under attack from the US spy planes on October 7. Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition but the TTP leaders had no doubt that those killed in the missile strike were none other than Qari Hussain and his bodyguards.
The TTP sources said before his death Qari Hussain had survived two missile strikes in October and September last year. First, his car was struck by the drones on Miramshah-Dattakhel Road in September but he was travelling in another car on that occasion and four of his men were killed. He escaped another drone attack on October 4 when a suspected hideout of the militants was hit by the US Predator in Mir Ali bazaar where eight people including five German nationals were killed.
On that occasion, Qari Hussain was inside a room and was about to come out to join his other colleagues for dinner when the spy planes fired three missiles and struck the building. Some of his colleagues recalled that he had narrowly escaped in a similar attack on January 14 last year in South Waziristan. He was once declared dead by Pakistani military authorities during an operation in 2008 in South Waziristan, but the reports later proved to be untrue.
Besides nationals of other countries, it was the first time that two Britons were killed in the missile strikes in North Waziristan. They were identified as Stephen and Darry Smith and both had embraced Islam a few years ago. The 48-year-old Stephen became Abu Bakr while 25-year-old Darry Smith was named as Mansoor Ahmad. They arrived in North Waziristan in November 2009 and reportedly joined the al-Qaeda-associated Islamic Army of Great Britain (IAGB).
