Al-Qaeda Indian branch confirm US drones kill 2 leaders in Pakistan

Published April 12, 2015
In this still image from video obtained September 11, 2012, courtesy of the Site Intelligence Group shows Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video, speaking from an undisclosed location, released by Al-Qaeda’s media arm, as-Sahab, for the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. — Photo by AFP/FILE
In this still image from video obtained September 11, 2012, courtesy of the Site Intelligence Group shows Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video, speaking from an undisclosed location, released by Al-Qaeda’s media arm, as-Sahab, for the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. — Photo by AFP/FILE

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for al-Qaeda's new Indian branch says US drone strikes in Pakistan have killed two of its leaders.

In an audio message released Sunday, Usama Mahmood identified the dead as deputy chief Ahmed Farooq and Qari Imran, in charge of the group's Afghan affairs.

Mahmood says a Jan. 5 drone strike in North Waziristan killed Imran, while a later drone strike killed Farooq.

Read: Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri announced the creation of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent in September.

The terror group increasingly finds itself overshadowed internationally by the self-styled Islamic State group, which holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...