Al Qaeda Pakistan chief Abu Haris was among 26 people killed in Monday's missile strike by the United States in Miranshah, Geo News quoted sources close to Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani as saying on Tuesday. According to the channel, Haqqani's four guards and two wives were also killed in the attack. Four missiles hit a madrassa run by Haqqani while three landed in populated areas. It is not known if Haqqani was present at the seminary at the time of the strike.
Haqqani, a close aide of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, has not been seen since the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001. The latest attack, in which three Al Qaeda leaders -- Hamza Arabi, Qasim Hamza and Musa Arabi -- were also killed, comes at a time when the US-led coalition troops are investigating last weekek's ground attack in Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan that claimed 20 lives.
Talking to Dawn News, US Consul General in Karachi Kay Anske said America believed in Pakistan's sovereignty, adding that western Pakistan was not an area of concern for the US.
That statement makes no sense. Either Kay Anske is on drugs or she's being hyper-polite.
Haqqani's network: Meanwhile, the US military said it had targeted Haqqani's network during an operation in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, and detained two suspected militants. The raid was launched on Monday in Khost province against militants suspected of carrying out roadside bomb attacks, said the US military. The US military said soldiers had found numerous AK-47s, grenades and other military equipment during the raid in Khost.
Also on Tuesday, two rockets hit central Kabul, landing in an area near the main North Atlantic Treaty Organisation base and the presidential palace but causing no casualties or damage, said Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.