In another major triumph of the US against al Qaeda, the network’s Pakistani leader Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, was killed in a US drone attack at Ghawakha near Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, late on Friday night.
The Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), the group that Kashmiri led, confirmed the death of its leader through a statement on Saturday afternoon. In the handwritten statement, issued by spokesman for the HuJI Abu Hanzla, the group confirmed the death of others along with Kashmiri in the US drone attack at 11.15pm on Friday night. “God willing… America will very soon see our full revenge. Our only target is America,” the statement said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik also confirmed Kashmiri’s death, a private TV channel reported. “We are sure that he was killed. Now we are trying to retrieve the bodies,” an intelligence official told Reuters. “We want to get photographs of the bodies.” A group of militants inside an apple orchard was hit by two missiles fired by a US drone, with another two following within minutes.
Local tribesmen said nine militants were killed and three injured in the strike, and all of the dead had been buried in a cemetery near the village of Karikot immediately after the attack. On Saturday morning local tribesmen reported that Kashmiri had been killed in the attack along with his commanders Abu Hamza, Ibrahim, Farooq, Amir Ahmed and Usman, while commander Imran was injured. Taliban militants neither contradicted nor confirmed the reports.
Sources told Pakistan Today that Kashmiri had left Khyber Agency some 10 days previously and reached Wana just 2 days ago. Kashmiri was the fifth most wanted terrorist by the US government, which had placed a $5 million bounty on his head. Kashmiri was also accused of masterminding the attack on Pakistan Naval Station Mehran in Karachi, as well as attacks in Indian Occupied Kashmir and India.
Ilyas Kashmiri killed in Waziristan drone strike
