Pakistani terrorist leader Ilyas Kashmiri killed in drone attack
 |
| Ilyas Kashmiri |
Pakistani terrorist leader Ilyas Kashmiri who forged close links with the Al Qaeda has been killed in a US drone attack on 4th June,2011(Saturday.) Kashmiri was the chief of the Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) and was widely believed to have masterminded the May 22 attack on a naval base in Karachi.Heavily armed terrorists stormed PNS Mehran base in Karachi and destroyed two surveillance aircraft. The 16-hour long siege left 10 security personnel and four terrorists dead. The media report said that Kashmiri was killed Saturday in the drone strike that also left at least nine militants dead.
The news of Kashmiri's killing comes just a month after Osama bin Laden was gunned down May 2 by US commandos who stormed the Al Qaeda leader's high-walled hideout in Abbottabad city, barely 120 km from Islamabad. Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda have vowed to avenge Osama's death. There have been a string of terror strikes across Pakistan since his killing.He was one of the most active al-Qaeda leaders, and was believed to have had a role in some high-profile attacks against Pakistani and US interests in Pakistan. It is believed that the capabilities of his 313 Brigade will suffer a setback now that he is gone. What is more, the Pakistani government has admitted to agreeing to set up joint intelligence teams with the Americans to hunt down wanted militant leaders, and many would be led to believe the Pakistani intelligence operatives had a role in leading the Americans to Kashmiri, unless the Pakistanis or the Americans claim otherwise.
The news of Kashmiri's killing comes just a month after Osama bin Laden was gunned down May 2 by US commandos who stormed the Al Qaeda leader's high-walled hideout in Abbottabad city, barely 120 km from Islamabad. Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda have vowed to avenge Osama's death. There have been a string of terror strikes across Pakistan since his killing.He was one of the most active al-Qaeda leaders, and was believed to have had a role in some high-profile attacks against Pakistani and US interests in Pakistan. It is believed that the capabilities of his 313 Brigade will suffer a setback now that he is gone. What is more, the Pakistani government has admitted to agreeing to set up joint intelligence teams with the Americans to hunt down wanted militant leaders, and many would be led to believe the Pakistani intelligence operatives had a role in leading the Americans to Kashmiri, unless the Pakistanis or the Americans claim otherwise.
In September 2009, Pakistani intelligence officials wrongly claimed that Ilyas Kashmiri had been killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan. Ilyas Kashmiri had been leading a group called the 313 brigade, which is reported to be a unit of the banned Pakistani organisation Harkatul Jihad al-Islami.He is widely believed to have masterminded an audacious attack on the Mehran naval airbase in Karachi last month, in which six well-organised militants managed to hold off Pakistan's equivalent of the US Navy Seals for 15 hours.
Prof. John Kurakar
No comments:
Post a Comment