Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports that claimed Badruddin was killed in a drone strike, and said he “is in the country and he is occupied with his operational responsibilities.” Afghan intelligence claims he is dead.
Badruddin Haqqani, a senior Haqqani Network leader, and Emeti Yakuf, the emir of the Turkistan Islamic Party, are thought to have been killed in drone strikes. Security forces killed 28 Taliban fighters in Bajaur and detained a commander in Nowshera. Nine civilians were killed in a mortar attack in Khyber.
Seven out of the last 10 drone strikes have taken place in the Shawal Valley, which is administered by “good Taliban” commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
The Predators and Reapers struck a vehicle in the Shawal Valley, and then followed up and hit the recovery operations. There have been three drone strikes in Shawal in the past 24 hours.
The Shawal Valley has been the focus of recent drone strikes in Pakistan. The strikes in Pakistan have been on the decline the past three months; the US has launched only eight since June 4.
The strike took place in Mir Ali, a known terrorist haven where the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Islamic Jihad Group, an IMU splinter group, are based.
The attack took place in the al Qaeda and Taliban-controlled Shawal Valley, and is the first in 16 days.
The strike in Mir Ali is the third in Pakistan in three days, and the eighth in the two weeks since the US failed to get Pakistan to reopen the supply lines for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The strike is the second in two days and targeted a compound in an area of North Waziristan known to serve as a nexus for al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other jihadist groups.
One of the Uighur detainees transferred to El Salvador was deemed a “high” risk by US officials because of his alleged ties to senior al Qaeda operatives.
Abu Bara’a Turki , the emir of the Cemaat-ul-Islam, said his group “is affiliated with the Afghan Taliban” and “is authorized by the Taliban to provide training to the mujahideen.”
The Shura-e-Murakeba embraces all of the major Taliban groups in North and South Waziristan, including the Haqqani Network, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and groups led by Mullah Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
A major weakness in the US’s strategy to fight al Qaeda’s central command is its reliance on Pakistan.
US officials are claiming the terror group is down to just two leaders in Pakistan: Ayman al Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al Libi. The claim is absurd.
The US has carried out five strikes in the past six days. Mir Ali is a known haven for al Qaeda and a host of terror groups based in Pakistan’s tribal agency of North Waziristan.
The strike took place in the same village in the Mir Ali area where a senior al Qaeda leader was killed six weeks ago.
Four “militants of central Asian origin” were said to have been killed in the strike in the Mir Ali area.
The Taliban’s counterintelligence unit in North Waziristan said Bahadar is an enemy, after the group was ejected from the North Waziristan Shura.
Abu Hafs al Shahri, a Saudi citizen, is said to have been killed in a recent Predator strike. He was on Saudi Arabia’s list of most wanted terrorists.
The strike took place in the Mir Ali area, and is the first in Pakistan’s tribal areas in 19 days.
The al Qaeda-linked Turkistan Islamic Party claimed responsibility for attacks in western China that killed more than 30 people. The announcement was made by Abdul Shakoor Turkistani, the new leader of the TIP, who is based in Pakistan.
The strike took place in the Mir Ali area, a known haven for a number of terrorist groups.
“Foreigners” were said to be sheltering at the Mir Ali guesthouse where today’s attack took place.
Fazle-ur-Rahman Khalil, the man Osama bin Laden consulted before issuing his infamous fatwa against the US, lives comfortably near Islamabad.
Ahmad Faruq is rumored to have been killed in the strike that killed Ilyas Kashmiri, but the report is unconfirmed.
Seven “foreigners” were reported killed in the terrorist haven of North Waziristan.
The Taliban fighters were killed during a three-day-long operation in the Qaysar district.
The attack took place in an area that hosts a number of regional and international terror groups. Four “foreigners” were reported killed.
The Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants document, one of hundreds released by WikiLeaks, described the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen as “associated forces” that support al Qaeda.
The strike in the Mir Ali area is the first in more than a week, and took place just one day after Admiral Mullen completed a trip to patch up ties with Pakistan’s military.