[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A dreaded militant commander, Qari Zafar, allegedly involved in the attack on the US Consulate in Karachi on March 2, 2006, has reportedly been killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast near Miramshah in North Waziristan a few days ago.The US had announced five million dollars in head money on him for his alleged involvement in attack on their consulate in Karachi. Zafar belonged to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and was wanted to the government for his involvement in several terrorist attacks. His close aides confirmed his death and claimed he was killed after mistakenly touching some explosives dumped inside his Hujra (male guesthouse) near Miramshah in North Waziristan. They said that he was killed on June 7 but members of his militant organisation did not want to make it public.
"He was actually searching for some materials and suddenly touched wires which triggered the blast in the IEDs stored there. He and a child, belonging to his relatives, died on the spot while two bodyguards sustained serious injuries," a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi commander told The News on condition of anonymity.
Talking to this scribe by telephone from somewhere in North Waziristan, the Taliban commander said Qari Zafar, aged 38 to 40 years, was living there for sometime with his family and relatives. He ruled out the widely believed rumours among the militants that some people might have planted an IED to kill him.
"He used to be very cautious and had restricted his movement to a great extent, but life is mortal and everyone has to die sooner or later," remarked the Urdu-speaking militant commander.