Al-Qaida leader killed in Pakistan attack

Herald Globe Thursday 9th February, 2012

ISLAMABAD - A US drone targeting a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghanistan border Thursday killed four suspected militants including a key commander of the terrorist group al-Qaida in overnight strikes.

The commander Badar Mansoor, operated a training camp in the North Waziristan tribal area for Pakistani Taliban, a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

"Badar Mansoor died in the missile attacks in Miranshah," an official was quoted as saying by TV channels.

Mansoor was the al-Qaida's chief in Pakistan since the death of Ilyas Kashmiri in a drone strike last June.

Mansoor did not carry a reward on his head unlike Kashmiri, according media reports. He was a key target for the US and was wanted for several attacks.

The US State Department Rewards for Justice had placed a reward of $5 million on Kashmiri's head. Mansoor is believed to be responsible for attacks in Karachi and the May 2010 killing of over 100 people belonging to the minority Ahmadi community in Lahore.

The second drone strike in two days indicated a pick up in American operations, which had been stalled for six weeks after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an accidental strike last year.

The incident had considerably soured relations between Pakistan and the US.

Though drone strikes had resumed last month, they were not frequent or as aggressive as in the last two days with the US and Pakistan striving to mend the relations.

President Barack Obama had last month for the first time spoken publicly about the covert CIA-run drone programme to flush out terrorists from the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to official sources Pakistani Taliban militants had begun hiding in buildings they had rented in Miranshah.

Mansoor, who hailed from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province, served as a conduit between the Taliban and al-Qaida. He reportedly sent militants trained at his North Waziristan camp to Afghanistan.