Al Qaeda number two killed in drone attack

 According to reports, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was killed in Pakistan in another big blow to the terrorist group that the US believes to be on the verge of defeat, a senior Obama administration official said Saturday.

The Libyan national who was the network s former operational leader rose to Al Qaeda s No. 2 spot after the US killed Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his Pakistan compound in May.

As per media report, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month that Al Qaeda s defeat was within reach if the US could mount a string of successful attacks on the group s weakened leadership.

Al-Rahman was killed Aug 22 in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, the official disclosed Saturday on condition of anonymity.

The official would not say how al-Rahman was killed. But his death came on the same day that a CIA drone strike was reported in Waziristan.

Al-Rahman, believed to be in his mid-30s, was a close confidant of bin Laden and once served as bin Laden s emissary to Iran. Born in Libya, al-Rahman joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union.

North Waziristan: First Drone Attacks of 2011, 11 killed

In the Span Wam Tehsil of North Waziristan, first drone attack of 2011 claimed lives of 8 miscreants.

According to official sources, in the area of Mandi Khel, North Waziristan, US drones fired 4 missiles targeting a car and a house due to which 8 miscreants got killed; although the death toll is expected to rise. In the year 2010, the count of drone attacks was 120. While on the other side, the second drone attack of this year was also took place in Mandi Khel. US drone fired 2 missiles targeting a car due to which 3 more miscreants were killed. The beginning of this new year was also done by three drone attacks.

North Waziristan: 4 Militants killed in Drone Strike

At least 4 militants have been killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan, Trendpk.com reported on Tuesday.

The strike took place in Spalga village, 15 kms south of Miramshah, the main town of the North Waziristan tribal district, near the Afghan border.

Another security official confirmed the strike and said the drone fired two missiles.

However, more casualties are feared as some people might be trapped under rubble.

India involved in terror in Balochistan, Waziristan: Wikileaks

Wikileaks revealed in its latest cables that there were enough evidences of Indian involvement in Waziristan and other tribal areas of Pakistan as well as Balochistan.

ISI Chief General Ahmad Shuja Pashas extension in services was termed as a good omen in one such cable and it was added that his further presence on the scene would enhance the agencys abilities to combat anti-terror war.

An earlier cable did rule out any direct or indirect involvement of ISI in 26/11 under Pashas command while Mumbais dossier, based on prime accused Ajmal Kasabs confessional statement was termed funny and shockingly immature. Wikileaks leaks further reveal that a cable from Kabul termed Afghan President as the patron-in-chief of the Afghan drug mafia.

The cable, citing certain verified UNODC figures stated that Karzai was living on the mercy of Afghani war lords who, with the passage of time had transformed into the drug lords. The cable stated that there was an annual drug trade of 3 trillion US Dollars from Pakistan while the Karzai administration was keeping the mum over the same. Another cable stated that Indian involvement in Afghanistan was increasing considerably and all was going on with the consent and knowledge of President Karzai and his administration.

The cable further reads that growing Indian influence and presence in Afghanistan was focused towards Pakistan and China both simultaneously. Another cable stated that Karzai was counting a lot on drug money to contests the last presidential elections. Another cable also elaborated gross irregularities in Afghan Presidential polls last year.

Wikileaks reveal that a cable sent from a US Mission in India termed former Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor as an incompetent combat leader and rather a geek.Another cable sent to Washington termed Hindutva brotherhood in general and Shiv Sena in particular, as ticking time bombs with regard to militancy and terrorism. It was suggested that fund raisers like Hindu Students Council of America etc should be banned to raise funds as they were generating funds for the Hindu militant outfits under the garb of charity. Another file dubs Hindutva Brotherhood as a far bigger threat to regional and global peace that Taliban, Al-Qaeda and LeT and the later three were declared as peanuts if equated with Hindutva Brotherhood and Sangh Parivaar and Washington was urged to take up the issue with New Delhi.

While the leaks of Wikileaks continue to give shocks and awes to the many global leaders and has exposed as to how safe, secret and secure the state of the most sensitive affairs of the Unites States’ government is, a careful and in-depth study of some out of the quarter million secret cable files.

Sri Lankan team attacker held from Lahore

Staff Report

LAHORE: Police have apprehended a wanted terrorist involved in Sri Lankan team attack Monday.

Qari hails from Waziristan, police said. Police have also recovered explosives from him.

The Sri Lankan cricket team attack took place on March 3, 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by about 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

At least half a dozen security personnel were killed and some Sri Lankan players got injuries. Trend Pk

Protesters demand opening of closed health centers in N. Waziristan

Staff Report

MIRANSHAH: Hundreds of tribesmen on Saturday staged a protest against the closure of 180 health centers in North Waziristan.

The participants held a rally in Miranshah, a major city of Waziristan, and blocked the Miranshah-Bannu road for more than two hours.

The tribesmen demanded the provincial government to reopen the health centers immediately as they face difficulties in the area. Trend Pk

Three soldiers killed in South Waziristan

Militants attacked a Pakistani military convoy on Tuesday, killing three soldiers in the tribal badlands of Waziristan on the Afghan border, a security official said.
The attack took place in the Kalundar Keley area of South Waziristan, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of the district’s main town Wana.
Militants attacked a security force patrol on Tuesday in Kalundar Keley area, killing three troops and wounding two others, a senior security official in the area told.
The official said an earlier roadside bomb attack in the same area wounded two more soldiers. A second security official confirmed the deaths.

SAMAA finds CNIC of attacker of Ghazi’s shrine

Staff Report

KARACHI: SAMAA found on Wednesday the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) of the suicide attacker of Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine.

According to CID officials, the suicide attacker, Badshah Khan, son of Mohammad Shafi hailed from Ladha, South Waziristan. Badshah’s CNIC shows his date of birth as August 1, 1991 with no identity mark. There is no signature, but a thumb impression.

Police found attack links to Waziristan and a CID investigation team had gone to South Waziristan.

Sources also disclosed that law enforcement agencies are in search of the identity of the other bomber and mastermind behind the attacks. SAMAA

One suicide bomber identified: Rehman Malik

Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday told the National Assembly that one of the bombers, who attacked the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine on Thursday, has been identified.
The bomber is from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and is a member of the Mehsud tribe, Malik said. The recent blasts can be traced back to Waziristan, the minister said. The minister vowed to give a befitting response in case of violation of Pakistani air or ground space. He said that the government has registered its protest at every forum and a joint investigation by Pakistan Army and Nato is underway to ascertain the causes of the incursions inside Pakistan.

Gen. Kayani spends Eid with troops in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Staff Report

RAWALPINDI: The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani spent Eid with troops deployed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, the COAS flew over flood affected areas of Swat and visited Khawazakhela, Gharalamai (North Waziristan Agency) and Jandola (South Waziristan Agency).

He informally interacted with the troops and appreciated their role in providing relief to the flood affected people.

During his visit, the COAS was accompanied by Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Asif Yasin. SAMAA

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