[Quqnoos] Pakistani Taliban confirmed the death of a senior commander, who was killed in a US drone attack in northwestern PakistanMohammad Qari Zafar's death, which was reported earlier by Pakistani intelligence officials, marks the latest success from US secret CIA-run drone program in Pakistan.
US unmanned aircrafts have carried out more than 100 missile strikes near the Afghan border since 2004, killing several senior militant leaders, including the leader of Pakistani Taliban, Baituallah Mahsud.
The Taliban described Zafar as a martyr in a statement faxed to local journalists and pledged to avenge his death, the Associated Press reports.
"The Mujahedeen will soon take revenge against the Pakistani government for his killing anywhere in the country," said the statement.
Pakistani officials publicly oppose such drone strikes as violations of the country's sovereignty.
Pakistani intelligence officials said last week that Zafar was killed Wednesday along with 13 other insurgents in the Dargah Mandi area of the North Waziristan.
Zafar, who was a senior member of the banned Al Qaeda-linked militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, coordinated the March 2006 suicide car bombing of the US consulate in Karachi.
He was also believed to be behind the September 2008 truck bomb blast at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed 54 people.
The US had posted a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture.