U.S. drone strikes kill senior Haqqani leaders in Pakistan

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U.S. drone strikes kill senior Haqqani leaders in Pakistan

2011-10-14 04:43:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIRANSHAH, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's volatile tribal region have killed at least two senior Haqqani Network leaders, officials said on Thursday. Several other suspected militants were also killed.

One of the airstrikes targeted a house in the Dandey Darpakhel village, which is located about 7 kilometers (4 miles) north of Miranshah in Pakistan's North Waziristan, officials told the Nation.

The U.S. drone reportedly launched two missiles targeting Haqqani Network commander Jamil Haqqani, who is believed to have coordinated logistics for the terrorist group and has been a close aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani. Jamil and three other militants were killed as a result of the strikes, the report said.

Meanwhile, a second airstrike struck a vehicle on Ghulam Khan Road in the same area, killing five suspected militants and injuring more than 10 others. A separate airstrike in the Bermal tehsil area of South Waziristan near the Pakistan-Afghan border killed three more suspected militants and injured four others.

Meanwhile, CBS News reported that Janbaz Zadran of the Haqqani Network was also killed in one of the airstrikes. The report, citing U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Zadran helped the organization orchestrate attacks on troops in Kabul and southeastern Afghanistan. The officials called Zadran's death the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield.

Sine U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on May 2 in Pakistan's Abbottabad, more than 30 drone strikes have been carried out in the country's tribal regions. The U.S. has considered Pakistan's Afghan border to be the most dangerous place on Earth. The area is known to be a stronghold of the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network, considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

In the first seven months of the year, 51 U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan have killed at least 443 people, according to a report by Conflict Monitoring Center. The report showed that the two deadliest months were June and July when 117 and 73 people were killed, respectively. One of the deadliest attacks was carried out on July 11 and 12 when four air strikes killed 63 people, the report said.

Controversy has surrounded the drone strikes as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing innocent civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. Details about the alleged militants are usually not provided, and the U.S. government does not comment on the strikes.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in its annual report that the U.S. drone strikes were responsible for 957 extra-legal killings in 2010. Since August 2008, there have been over 250 drone attacks which have reportedly killed more than 1,500 people in North and South Waziristan alone.

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