October 27, 2008
A PAKISTANI Taliban commander accused of launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan was among 16 people killed in a suspected US missile strike, a senior official said.
The commander, Haji Omar Khan, died when at least two missiles slammed into a training camp in the South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, local administration official Mawaz Khan told AFP.
"The death toll has gone up to 16 as six more bodies have been recovered from the site. Senior Taliban commander Haji Omar died in the strike,'' Khan said.
US halts ground raids into Pakistan
Another government official quoting local sources said up to 20 people were killed, mostly Pakistani Taliban fighters, adding that a team was on its way to the area to investigate.
The strike was the latest in a series on militant safe havens in Pakistan's tribal areas that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad, a frontline ally in the US-led "war on terror".
Khan was active in attacks against the border, local residents said.
The slain commander was a senior member of the group of veteran Taliban chieftain Jalaluddin Haqqani, residents added. Many of the recent US missile strikes in Pakistan have targeted Haqqani and his followers.
A religious school operated by Haqqani was targeted in another suspected US missile strike on Thursday, killing 11 people.
Haqqani was one of the most prominent Afghan commanders who fought the Soviet Red Army between 1978 and 1989. He subsequently became close to Mullah Omar, the leader of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
A PAKISTANI Taliban commander accused of launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan was among 16 people killed in a suspected US missile strike, a senior official said.
The commander, Haji Omar Khan, died when at least two missiles slammed into a training camp in the South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, local administration official Mawaz Khan told AFP.
"The death toll has gone up to 16 as six more bodies have been recovered from the site. Senior Taliban commander Haji Omar died in the strike,'' Khan said.
US halts ground raids into Pakistan
Another government official quoting local sources said up to 20 people were killed, mostly Pakistani Taliban fighters, adding that a team was on its way to the area to investigate.
The strike was the latest in a series on militant safe havens in Pakistan's tribal areas that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad, a frontline ally in the US-led "war on terror".
Khan was active in attacks against the border, local residents said.
The slain commander was a senior member of the group of veteran Taliban chieftain Jalaluddin Haqqani, residents added. Many of the recent US missile strikes in Pakistan have targeted Haqqani and his followers.
A religious school operated by Haqqani was targeted in another suspected US missile strike on Thursday, killing 11 people.
Haqqani was one of the most prominent Afghan commanders who fought the Soviet Red Army between 1978 and 1989. He subsequently became close to Mullah Omar, the leader of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Source: The Australian
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