Islamabad: A leading Pakistani Taliban commander close to Al Qaida is believed to have been killed in an army airstrike, officials said on Saturday, in the latest apparent blow to insurgents who have attacked Pakistan and threatened US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad was believed to be among some two dozen insurgents killed on Friday at a sprawling compound in the northwest Mohmand tribal region, two intelligence officials said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malek said authorities had not identified the bodies of Mohammad or his fellow commander Qari Ziaur Rehman, but all the militants hiding at the site were killed after the helicopter gunships were dispatched on "real-time" intelligence.
"If Faqir Mohammad and Qari Ziaur Rehman are alive, then I will be surprised," he told Pakistan's Express news channel after receiving a briefing from the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media on the record. They said they were confident of their information, but warned that the remote, dangerous nature of the region made it nearly impossible to offer a definitive confirmation at this stage.
Pakistani Taliban spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.
Profile
Mohammad was a deputy commander in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan — Pakistan's Taliban Movement — leading the network's operations in the Bajur and Mohmand tribal regions. He also was close to Al Qaida No 2 leader Ayman Al Zawahri, who along with Osama Bin Laden is suspected of using Pakistan's tribal badlands as a hide-out.
The Pakistani Taliban have staged numerous attacks that have killed hundreds across Pakistan, and they are suspected of aiding militants involved in attacks across the border in Afghanistan. The group is also a prime suspect in the suicide bombing that killed seven CIA employees in eastern Afghanistan in late December.
Declared clear
Bajur and to some extent Mohmand have come under fierce assault by Pakistani army and paramilitary forces. Just days ago, a top general declared for the second time in a year that Bajur was cleared of militants.
If confirmed, Mohammad's death would be the latest in a series of victories for Pakistan and the US in the battle against extremists. Over the past two months, Pakistan has captured several Afghan Taliban leaders hiding on its soil, intelligence officials have said.
