Ilyas Kashmiri killed in US drone strike( Kashmiri Manpower Operation)
HuJI confirms death of its chief; the Al-Qaeda leader was a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks
Peshawar: Banned terror group Harkat-ul Jehad-al Islami today confirmed the death of its commander Ilyas Kashmiri in a US drone strike, Pakistani TV channels reported.
HuJI spokesperson Abu Hanzala issued a statement in which it said it would take revenge from the US for Kashmiri's death, Dawn news and other channels reported.
The channels said they had received a fax message from HuJI confirming the 47-year-old Kashmiri's death. Kashmiri was the chief of the Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI).
The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist was a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
BBC Urdu had earlier reported that Kashmiri was among nine militants killed in a US drone strike in the South Waziristan tribal region.
The US drones targeted a location 20 km from Wana, one of the main towns in South Waziristan late last night. A drone fired two missiles at the spot and two more missiles were fired after a short interval, local residents were quoted as saying by BBC Urdu.
Former Pakistani Army commando Ilyas Kashmiri is cited as one of the masterminds of a plot for a series of 'Mumbai-style' attacks in European cities and who forged close links with the Al Qaeda.
Considered one of the most dangerous terror leaders in the world, he headed "Brigade 313" that is 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 left at least nine other militants dead. Witnesses were quoted as saying that Kashmiri had arrived in South Waziristan from the Khyber tribal region.
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.
The bushy bearded Kashmiri, who is also named in the Mumbai terror attack case against Pakistani Canadian accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was described by one senior US official as a rising star in Al Qaeda terror group, NBC News had reported.
Rana, who is accused of providing material support to Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and providing a cover to Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley for scouting targets for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, has gone on trial in Chicago.
Although the attacks on European cities never came off, Kashmiri, who frequently sported aviator-styled dark glasses, had told a reporter for the Asian Times that the 2008 Mumbai attack was "nothing compared to what has already been planned for the future".
Kashmiri was at one point a member of the Pakistani military, serving as a commando in a Special Services Group that was once tasked with training Afghan mujahideen to fight the Soviets.
He was later reassigned to train Kashmiri fighters against the Indians, but broke from the Pakistani Army and joined a terrorist group called Harakat-ul Jihad-i-Islami, or HuJI.
According to the Chicago case indictment, Kashmiri based his terror operations in western Pakistan, and starting in 2007 was "in regular contact with Al Qaeda".
In February 2009, the indictment states, Headley met Kashmiri and another co-defendant in the Waziristan region of Pakistan and handed him surveillance videotapes he had taken of the Copenhagen offices of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that had run cartoons on Prophet Muhammad, to help plan a terrorist operation.
"During the meeting, Kashmiri indicated that he had already reviewed the Copenhagen videotapes and suggested that they consider using a truck bomb in the operation," the indictment states.
"Kashmiri also indicated he could provide manpower for the operation."
Source: Agencies
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