Pakistani military kills local Taliban leader, captures al Qaeda bomb expert
The military said the Taliban commander is known as “Commander Umer” but did not name the al Qaeda explosives expert.
The military said the Taliban commander is known as “Commander Umer” but did not name the al Qaeda explosives expert.
The military appears to be focused the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan as well as foreign fighters from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Turkistan Islamic Party.
Operation Zarb-e-Azb appears to be aimed at the “bad Taliban” and foreign terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. It is unlikely the Haqqani Network or the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group will be targeted.
Hafiz Gul Bahadar’s “good Taliban” may end its peace deal with the Pakistani military and government after the military launched punitive raids in North Waziristan.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that 33 Uzbeks and three Germans are among those killed in Pakistani airstrikes in North Waziristan.
Adnan Rasheed, the emir of the Ansar al Aseer Khorasan, appears to have been one of the targets of the airstrikes in the Mir Ali and Datta Khel areas of North Waziristan. Tribesmen claimed the Pakistani Air Force launched indiscriminate attacks on villages.
The strike in Pakistan is the first reported in the country in more than a month. The Turkistan Islamic Party fighters were allied with Hafiz Gul Bahadar, who is considered by the Pakistani government to be a “good Taliban.”