Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri serves as the terror group’s top bomb maker. Asiri was involved in the assassination attempt that targeted Saudi Arabia’s deputy interior minister.
Five policemen in Hangu were killed as the Taliban continue their terror campaign in the regions surrounding the provincial capital of Peshawar.
The unnamed IMU commander ran “multiple IMU training camps and was involved with the facilitation and movement of fighters in and out of Samangan training camps, including fighters’ movement to Pakistan.”
Qari Zia Rahman said that al Qaeda and the Taliban have jointly decided to attack US and Afghan forces to retaliate for the March 17 Predator strike in Datta Khel.
The so-called spies were killed for aiding in the controversial March 17 Predator strike in Datta Khel.
The raid targeted four Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commanders. ISAF has struck in the district of Burkah in Baghlan province four times this month.
The tribal leaders in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled agency made the threats against the US after holding a press conference in Peshawar.
The Taliban commander targeted in the raid is linked to foreign fighters and suicide training camps in the northern province of Sar-i-Pul.
The Afghan High Peace Council, set up by President Hamid Karzai in 2010, reportedly wants to speak with four top Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo. All four allegedly had significant ties to al Qaeda prior to their detention.
General Kayani said today’s Predator strike in Datta Khel was a “senseless attack” that targeted “a jirga of peaceful citizens including elders of the area.” A senior Taliban commander and 10 fighters were among those killed.
The strike appears to have targeted a meeting between rival “militant” groups in North Waziristan, which was being hosted by tribal elders loyal to so-called “good Taliban” leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
The US soldiers have been suspended while an investigation is underway into the deaths of two Afghan boys who were watering a field at nighttime.
Datta Khel is a known safe haven for al Qaeda and allied terror groups. Today’s strike is the fifth in Pakistan’s tribal areas in six days.
US officials told The Long War Journal that Omar Hammami is believed to be alive. Somalia’s defense minister said last week that Hammami had been killed.
The strike is the third in Pakistan’s tribal areas in two days, and the second in an area controlled by the Haqqani Network.
The Taliban claimed the attack, which killed at least 37 people, including four children.
The strike near Miramshah in North Waziristan is the second today. Six “militants” were reported killed.
Four “rebels” escaped after the first volley of missiles missed their target. Three of the last six Predator strikes have taken place in South Waziristan.
The Hizb-i Islami Khalis helped Osama bin Laden enter Afghanistan in 1996, and aided in his escape to Pakistan during the Battle of Tora Bora. ISAF has not mentioned HIK by name in its press releases prior to today.
Predators fired a second round of missiles at a car, indicating that an important terrorist leader or operative was the target of the strike.
Two Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commanders were killed in Samangan, and another was captured in Balkh.
General Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili and four of his bodyguards were killed in an attack at a bazaar. Just six weeks ago, Sayedkhili said Kunduz was cleared of the Taliban.
The Taliban commander targeted in the raid leads “approximately 80 foreign fighters of Uzbek, Chechen and Tajik descent” and is linked to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
The commander of Pakistan’s 7 Division, which operates in North Waziristan, claimed that few civilians are killed in the covert US airstrikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
The Taliban claimed credit for the attack, which targeted members of an anti-Taliban militia in the Matni area. The Taliban have targeted the same militia in the past.
Somalia’s defense minister claimed today that the US citizen was killed during recent fighting, but the report is unconfirmed.
The strike ends an 11-day-long lull in the CIA-directed attacks in Pakistan’s tribal agencies. A compound in Mullah Nazir’s territory was the target of the attack.
The Taliban detonated a car bomb at a compressed natural gas station today, killing more than 32 people. The target was a nearby headquarters for the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.
The leader of the Caucasus Emirate called for all Muslims to back the terror group and justified the deadly suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow by saying the group is at “war” with Russia.
The Taliban continue their terror campaign in the central region of northwestern Pakistan. The attack is the latest at mosques and other religious sites in Pakistan.