1 Attachment(s)
Nov. 03., 2011. - US drone strike kills 3 Haqqani Netw fighters in North Waziristan
Attachment 11916story Bill Roggio @ longwarjournal
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US Predators killed three Haqqani Network fighters in North Waziristan who were loyal to a top leader killed in a similar strike two weeks ago.
The unmanned CIA-operated Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired a pair of missiles at a compound in the village of Darpakhel Sarai in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan, according to AFP.
The identities of the three militants killed were not disclosed. The men are said to be loyal to Jan Baz Zadran, the senior Haqqani Network leader who is also known as Jalil Haqqani. No senior Taliban, Haqqani Network, or al Qaeda leaders are reported to have been killed.
Jan Baz, whom US intelligence officials have described as the Haqqani Network's third in command, was killed in a Predator strike in Danda Darpa Khel on Oct. 13. Jan Baz is the most senior Haqqani Network leader killed or captured in either Pakistan or Afghanistan since the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001. He was killed just two weeks after the Haqqani Network's top leader in Afghanistan was captured by US Special Operations forces in Paktia province.
The US has stepped up pressure on the Haqqani Network, which operates in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is linked to both al Qaeda and the Pakistani military and the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. The Haqqani Network supports and shelters a constellation of regional and international terror group groups in North Waziristan, and fights NATO and Afghan forces across the border [for more information on the Haqqani Network, see LWJ report, US adds senior Haqqani Network leader to terrorist list].
