Official: Al-Qaida militant targeted in Pakistan

[June 04, 2011]  DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) -- A U.S. missile attack that killed nine militants close to the Afghan border was targeting top al-Qaida militant leader Ilyas Kashmiri, although it was not clear if he was there at the time of the strike, an official said Saturday.

A local militant commander said Kashmiri was not killed in the attack, and other Pakistani officials said they also had no information regarding his death. Verifying who has been killed in the drone strikes is difficult, and often initial reports turn out to be wrong or are never formally denied or confirmed by authorities here or in the United States.

Kashmiri is one of five most-wanted militant leaders in Pakistan and his death would be another blow to al-Qaida just over a month after Osama bin Laden was killed. Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida's military operations chief in Pakistan, he has been mentioned as a possible replacement for bin Laden, who was killed May 2 in an American commando raid.

The 47-year-old Pakistani, said to be blind in one eye and missing a finger, is accused in a string of high profile attacks on Western and Pakistani security force targets inside Pakistan, as well as in India.

Indian officials have alleged he was involved in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more than 160 people. He has also been named a defendant in an American court over a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

His name was on a list of militants that the United States and Pakistan recently agreed to jointly target, officials have said, and the successful strike could help repair damaged ties between the two countries, especially if Islamabad helped provide intelligence leading up to the attack.

The drone-fired missiles struck a house in the village of Gowakha, on the outskirts of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, late Friday, officials said. On Saturday, one official named five of the victims -- Usman, Farooq, Ameer Hamza and Ibrahim -- and said they were members of the Punjabi Taliban.

He said Kashmiri was the target of the raid, but did not yet know whether he was killed or even present at the compound. The official did not give his name because his agency does not allow their operatives to be named.

A local militant commander, who gave his name as Baitullah, said Kashmiri was not present.

Kashmiri has most recently been linked to last month's 18-hour assault on a naval base in Karachi. He is also accused of masterminding several bloody raid on Pakistan police and intelligence buildings.

The U.S Department of State says he is the commander of the terrorist organization Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami that carried out a 2006 suicide bombing against the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four people.

In September 2009, officials said Kashmiri was believed to have been killed in a drone strike. The report turned out to be wrong. Sometimes militants release statements confirming the deaths of their comrades in missile strikes, though often weeks or months after the attack. The United States does not acknowledge firing the missiles, much less say who they are targeting.

[Associated Press; By ISHTIAQ MEHSUD]

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