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Today's Paper | April 28, 2024

Updated 21 Jun, 2017 03:47pm

Drone strike kills Haqqani network commander in Hangu

A drone strike has killed a commander of the deadly Haqqani network in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hangu district, security sources said Tuesday.

Haqqani network leader Abubakar and his partner were killed when a drone fired two missiles at his house in Speen Tal area of Hangu on Monday night.

The drone strike "completely destroyed" the suspected militant's house, security sources said.

Examine: 'Haqqani network has moved to Afghanistan'

Local residents said the drone was strafing above the area for a while, before it destroyed the targeted compound. The area is such that it borders Orakzai, Kurram and North Waziristan Agencies.

There was no immediate confirmation of the drone strike from government officials.

The drone attack comes days after Afghan security officials accused the Haqqani network and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence of being behind the suicide truck bombing in Kabul on May 31 that killed at least 150 people. The allegation was strongly rejected by the Pakistan government at all levels.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry had said earlier this month that the Haqqani network has moved to Afghanistan and Afghan officials should focus on tackling them within their territory instead of blaming Pakistan,

The Haqqani network was founded by Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani and is now being run by his son Sirajuddin. The group has been blamed for some of the most heinous attacks on US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan. It was designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States in September 2012.

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