Thursday, February 9, 2012

CIA drone strike kills senior al-Qaeda-linked Taliban commander in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The second U.S. drone attack in two days in Pakistan's North Waziristan region killed five people on Thursday, including a senior militant commander with links to al Qaeda, Pakistani intelligence officials and Taliban sources said.

Badar Mansoor, leader of a faction of the Pakistani Taliban with close ties to al Qaeda, was one of the five killed in the strike in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence officials and Pakistani Taliban sources said.

"Badar Mansoor was living in a rented house here. He died in the drone strike this morning, and we have confirmation of five deaths," a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters.

Officials said the death toll could rise because buildings next to the one targeted were also damaged and people could have been there.

On Wednesday, a U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at a compound in a village near Miranshah killing 10 suspected militants, Pakistani officials and villagers said.

More...