M A I N   N E W S

Drone strikes kill top Afghan rebel
Key Pak Taliban leader also dead

Washington/Islamabad, August 25
Badruddin Haqqani, the key operational commander of the Al-Qaida linked Haqqani network, and top Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah are believed to have been killed in US drone and air strikes in the tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Badruddin, the son of Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, is ranked as a deputy to his elder brother and the network's chief Sirajuddin and was believed to be killed in one of the five volleys of drone strikes in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan since August 18.

Four of the missile hits took place in Shawal Valley, considered to be traditional area of operations of the Haqqani network in North Waziristan, and US reports said he may have been killed in the August 21 strike near Miranshah.

One senior Pakistani intelligence official said Badruddin had fled a compound that he and other militants were in after it was hit by a missile, then was killed by a second drone strike on a car that he was in. There was no official word on Badruddin's fate from the Haqqani network.

Senior US officials were quoted by the New York Times as saying that they had strong indications that Badruddin was killed in a drone strike. "Our informers have told us that he has been killed in the drone attack on the 21st but we cannot confirm it," said one of the Pakistani intelligence officials.

If Badruddin's death is confirmed, it could deal a major blow to the Haqqanis, one of the United States' most-feared enemies in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, a statement by coalition forces in Afghanistan said that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Mullah Dadullah was among 20 militants killed in a "precision air strike in Shigal wa Sheltan district (of) Kunar province yesterday."

Dadullah, whose real name is Maulana Mohammad Jamaluddin, was made the commander of Taliban in Pakistan's Bajaur Agency in 2010. His deputy Shakir too was killed in the air strike, the statement said. — Agencies

Terror King Badruddin Haqqani

• Key operational commander of Haqqani network, ran its day-to-day militant operations, handles high-profile kidnappings and manages its lucrative smuggling operations
• Son of Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, he was ranked as a deputy to his elder brother and network chief Sirajuddin
• Thought to be in his mid-30s, he was a member of the Miranshah Shura, one of the Afghan Taliban's four regional commands that controls the group’s activities in Af-Pak region
• Badruddin was one of the nine Haqqani family members designated by the US as global terrorists

Who is Mullah Dadullah

• Was self-proclaimed Taliban leader in Pak's Bajur tribal area that lies across the border
• Fled to Afghanistan to escape an operation launched by the Pakistan Army
• Responsible for movement of fighters and weapons, as well as attacks against Afghan and coalition forces