US intelligence agencies thought that Abdul Haq al Turkistani, a member of al Qaeda’s executive council, was killed in a drone strike in February 2010. But according to a jihadist media outlet, he was badly wounded but recovered and assumed command of the Turkistan Islamic Party in 2014.
The attack took place in a section of Pakistan’s tribal agencies where the the US is concentrating its drone campaign in North Waziristan.
Five of the eight strikes that have taken place in Pakistan so far this year have targeted jihadists operating in the Shawal Valley, which spans both North and South Waziristan.
In a new video from Baiji, the Islamic State highlighted the use of a drone to gather intelligence for its “operations control room” directing the fighting at the oil refinery complex. The jihadist group has showcased the use of drones before, most notably at the Brigade 93 base in Raqqah last summer.
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent confirmed that deputy emir Ustad Ahmad Farooq and shura member Qari ‘Imran were killed in separate strikes in January. Farooq was identified in Osama bin Laden’s documents as an up and coming al Qaeda leader.
The strike took place in the Shawal Valley, a jihadist hub that spans both North and South Waziristan.
Asmatullah Muawiya is said to have been targeted in one of the two strikes that took place today in Shawal area of North Waziristan in Pakistan.
The Pakistani military claimed it “cleared” the Datta Khel area in September 2014 as part of operation Zarb-e-Azb. The US has launched seven drone strikes in Datta Khel since then.
