News
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Ilyas Kashmiri killed in SWA drone strike
* Harkatul Jihad al-Islami confirms killing of its chief* Kashmiri is believed to have planned attack on PNS Mehran naval base in Karachi
Staff Report
PESHAWAR: Top al-Qaeda leader and head of Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HJI), Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan on Friday, senior officials said on Saturday.
“We have received reports of his death. But we are waiting for conclusive evidence to confirm that Kashmiri has been killed with nine other terrorists,” a security official, who wished not to be named, told Daily Times.
A hand-written brief statement in Urdu-language from a purported spokesman of the HJI, distributed in Wana Bazaar on Saturday afternoon, confirmed that Kashmiri was killed.
“Harkatul Jihad al-Islami’s 313 Brigade confirms that in Friday’s drone attack at 11:15pm our commander-in-chief, Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, was martyred,” the spokesman, Abu Hamzullah Kasher, said in the statement.
No one has heard of Kasher before and there is no independent confirmation of his claim.
“We heard that those killed were Punjabi and Kashmiri’s presence at the site of the attack was talk of the town,” a tribal elder with good contacts in the political administration said by phone from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan. A US drone targeted a group of terrorists in Ghwakhwa area, 20 kilometres south of Wana, at 11:15pm on Friday night, killing nine terrorists and wounding four others.
No further details were available to ascertain what the HJI leader and the others were doing there.
“What is confirmed is that he (Kashmiri) was seen two days back at the site of the attack,” the officials said. “Testimonies of the injured will clear the situation when they speak out,” he added.
Ilyas Kashmiri is believed to having planned the deadly attack on Pakistan Navy’s airbase PNS Mehran in Karachi on May 22. “We will certainly give the US a revengeful reply,” added the HJI spokesman.
Last year, Kashmiri was believed killed in a Predator attack in North Waziristan. However, he appeared alive when he spoke to a journalist later on.
Meanwhile, the political administration warned the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes that allowing any terror element inside the area, could prompt an Abbottabad-like operation.
The warning came after a jirga which, was attended by political agent Atifur Rehman and Ahmedzai Wazir elders, was held in Wana five days back.
“Keep a vigilant eye on your area and its surroundings as important people can come here and that can lead to Abbottabad-like operation,” the political agent was quoted as having said during the jirga.
According to a tribal elder, military officials also participated in the jirga.
“We see some stepped up activities in and around Wana as the political administration and military are holding jirgas and carrying out search operation. This all suggests if they have clue about a high value target hiding somewhere or trying to sneak into the area,” said the tribal elder who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk