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Senior al Qaeda Military Commander Killed In Predator Strike

By Bill RoggioFebruary 20, 2010 12:13 PM

The US killed a key al Qaeda military leader based in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan during an airstrike on Feb. 17.

Sheikh Mansoor was killed in a Predator attack that targeted a Taliban compound in the village of Tapi near Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. Two other "militants" were initially reported killed in the airstrike; it is not currently known if there were any other senior al Qaeda or Taliban operatives killed. Dawn News reported that the airstrike "left number of other important militants killed."


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Both Geo News and Dawn reported that a funeral was held for Mansoor, and that Mohammed Haqqani, a mid-level Haqqani Network military commander and brother of the group's top military commander Siraj Haqqani, was killed by another drone strike while preparing to attend Mansoor's burial on Feb. 18.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said they believe Sheikh Mansoor was killed in the attack on Feb. 17.


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"We're pretty sure that Mohammed Haqqani was killed while going to Sheikh Mansoor's burial," an intelligence official said. "We were gunning for Siraj but got his little brother instead. It is still a good kill; the Haqqanis are dangerous and Mohammed was involved in the family business."

Sheikh Mansoor was a commander in al Qaeda's Lashkar al Zil, or the Shadow Army, US officials said. He was based in North Waziristan but carried out attacks against US and Afghan forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Mansoor's family has a pedigree in jihad. His father was Ahmed Said Al Khadr, an al Qaeda operative who was killed in October 2003. Khadr, who is also known as Abdul Rehman Khadr al Kanadi, was born in Cairo, Egypt, but was a Canadian national.


Feb 20th - Airstrikes kill 30 militants in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Thirty militants were killed in airstrikes targeting hideouts in Pakistan's tribal region Saturday, the Pakistan army's spokesman said.

Security forces launched the airstrikes after receiving a tip that militants were hiding in the Shawal region of South Waziristan, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said

The Shawal region is a rugged and mountainous area along the Afghan border where militants escaped to after the military launched its offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan last October, Abbas said.

Many of the militants are hiding in caves and heavily forested areas, according to Abbas, and local residents revealed the location of the militant hideout.

"It's a local intelligence network which is expanding in the area," Abbas said.

Abbas said many of the estimated 8,000 militants in South Waziristan when the offensive was launched are either on the run or are hiding.

"They have dispersed all over the place and around 700 have been killed," he said. "The militants from the heartland have come back to their own area. They're in disarray and disorganized."



7 Militants Killed As IEDs Explode in W. Afghanistan

KABUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two Taliban militants were killed as their bomb exploded prematurely in Herat province in western Afghanistan Saturday, a local official said.

"Two Taliban terrorists were busy in mine planting on a road in Shindand district this morning but suddenly the device went off killing both on the spot,"district chief Lal Mohammad Omarzai told Xinhua.

This is the second incident of its kind claiming the lives of Taliban militants in Afghanistan over the past two days.

Similar incident killed five Taliban militants including their commander Mullah Sharafudin alias Shahabudin along with four of his bodyguards in Dasht-e-Archi district of northern Kunduz province Friday.

Taliban often use roadside bombings and suicide attacks against Afghan and NATO-led forces based in Afghanistan.


Also this week:

Feb 13th - Operation Moshtarek

Coalition and Afghan forces have launched the long-awaited assault on the Taliban stronghold of Marja in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.

A combined force of more than 6,000, including US Marines, Afghan soldiers, and British troops, kicked off the operation during an air and ground assault in and around the city of Marja in central Helmand province after midnight yesterday. Hundreds of troops were inserted into Marja by helicopter to seize key points within the city.

As the operation began, Coalition aircraft conducted airstrikes on suspected Taliban and al Qaeda positions on the outskirts of the town. The Afghan government and the Coalition have assembled more than 15,000 troops to take on the Taliban in Marja


Feb 14th - Drone Strike In Pakistan

The US killed five terrorists in an attack in the Taliban-controlled tribal area of North Waziristan.

Unmanned US strike aircraft, likely the Predators and Reapers, fired two missiles at a Taliban training camp near Mir Ali, one of the two main towns in North Waziristan.

"Two missiles landed on a militant compound in Zor Babar Aidak village near Mir Ali town," a Pakistani security official told Dawn. "The US drone strike killed five people and wounded three others."



Feb 15th - Another Drone Strike

The US killed four terrorists during an airstrike in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Unmanned US strike aircraft fired two missiles into a vehicle transporting "militants" out of the village of Tabi Ghundi Kala.

"It was a drone attack," an unnamed Pakistani intelligence official told AFP. "Two missiles were fired into the vehicle. Four militants were killed."



Feb 15th - Taliban #2 Mullah Baradar Captured

Pakistan's top military intelligence service has captured the Afghan Taliban's deputy commander during a raid in the port city of Karachi.

The Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Pakistan's military intelligence service, accompanied by officers from the US Central Intelligence Agency arrested Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban's second in command and the group's operational commander, several days ago, US officials told The New York Times.



Feb 16th -
Taliban commander, 4 al Qaeda fighters killed in raid near Marja

Afghan and Coalition special operations forces killed a Taliban commander who works with foreign fighters and 10 Taliban and al Qaeda operatives during a raid in a region just outside the battle zone in Marja in Helmand province.

During a raid in the district of Washir, the combined force targeted and killed Mullah Sarajudin, the Taliban commander, along with four al Qaeda operatives and six Taliban fighters. Washir lies just north of the district of Nad Ali, where Afghan and Coalition forces have launched a massive operation to take control of the city of Marja and the surrounding areas.

"Troops late Monday night targeted a hideout out of Taliban rebels in Washir district, killing Mullah Sarajudin along with four Arab militants," a spokesman for Helmand province told Xinhuan News.



Feb 17th -
Latest US airstrike kills 3 in North Waziristan

The US carried out the third unmanned airstrike in four days in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

A missile fired from an unmanned Predator or Reaper attack aircraft struck a Taliban compound in the village of Tapi near Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

Three "militants" were killed, Pakistani intelligence officials told Reuters.



Feb 17th -
Pakistan detains Taliban shadow governor of Kunduz


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Kunduz shadow governor Mullah Abdul Salam. Image obtained by The Long War Journal from an interview by Al-Sumud, a takfiri magazine from Afghanistan published in Arabic.

Pakistan’s military intelligence service, aided by the CIA, has captured the shadow Taliban governor of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province during a raid in the city of Faisalabad.

Mullah Abdul Salam was detained during a joint raid by the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA one week ago in the eastern province of Punjab, Pakistani and US intelligence officials told Newsweek.

Salam was detained along with three other Taliban operatives as they were planning to meet with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban's operational commander and the top deputy to Mullah Omar, who was captured more than 10 days ago in Karachi. The Taliban and the Pakistani military have confirmed that Baradar was captured.



Feb 18th -
US airstrikes target Haqqani Network in North Waziristan

The US carried out the fourth airstrike in five days against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan's lawless tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Unmanned US strike aircraft, the Predators or Reapers, struck a compound and a vehicle in the village of Danda Darpa Khel just outside of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. Three members of the dangerous Haqqani Network were among the four terrorists killed.

"The US drone fired two missiles; one hit a compound and another, a vehicle," a Pakistani intelligence official told AFP. "

"Three of the militants were Afghan militants attached with the Haqqani Network," another security official told AFP.



Feb 19th -
Jalaluddin Haqqani's Son Killed In North Waziristan Strike:

Yesterday's airstrike in the Taliban-controlled tribal of North Waziristan in Pakistan is thought to have killed a son of the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network.

Mohammed Haqqani, one of 12 sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, is reported to have been killed in the Feb. 18 airstrike in Danda Darpa Khel just outside of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. Four Haqqani Network fighters were initially reported killed after an unmanned US Predator fired two missiles at a compound and a vehicle in the town.

Pakistani intelligence officials and a Taliban commander told AFP that Mohammed was one of four people killed. Mohammed was first reported killed late last night by Daily Times.

"Mohammed Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was killed in yesterday’s attack along with two foreign operatives and a local tribesman," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. "Mohammed was not actively involved in the movement but his place was used as a hideout for Arab foreign militants."