50th al-Qaeda leader killed in 338th drone strike

average american

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50th al-Qaeda leader killed in 338th drone strike

Amir Mir
Monday, December 03, 2012
From Print Edition

ISLAMABAD: The December 1 death of another key al-Qaeda leader, Abdul Rehman al Zaman Yemeni, in an American drone strike in Wana area of South Waziristan has once again given credence to the Western intelligence claims that the Waziristan region continues to be a hotbed of the most-wanted al-Qaeda radicals, more than 11 years after the 9/11 terror attacks and the subsequent launching of the US-led war against terror.



Abdul Rehman Yemeni, who was an Arab national with close ties to al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, was the 50th top al-Qaeda leader to have been killed by a US drone in Pakistan since the launching of the deadly drive in 2005. Yemeni was killed when a remotely-piloted drone targeted a car in Shin Warsak area near Wana, the headquarters of the South Waziristan Agency. The predator strike that targeted Abdul Rehman Yemeni was the 43rd carried out by the CIA since January 1, 2012. The CIA runs the drone programme and has carried out a total of 338 predator strikes in Pakistan since 2005, primarily targeting al-Qaeda-linked wanted terrorists in Waziristan region.



According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Interior, six important al-Qaeda leaders have been killed since January this year in 43 drone attacks in Pakistan. Of those terminated by the US drones included Abu Kasha al Iraqi and Fateh al Turki (killed on September 24), Emeti Yakuf aka Abdul Jabbar of East Turkistan Movement (killed on August 24), Badruddin Haqqani of the Haqqani network (killed August 21), al-Qaeda's second in command Abu Yahya al-Libi (killed on June 4), Shamsullah and Amir Hamza Tojikhel (killed on March 13), and commander Badr Mansoor (killed on February 9).



Ten key al-Qaeda leaders were killed in 72 strikes conducted by the US drones in 2011. These included four al-Qaeda commanders of the Pakistani origin, Muhammad Khan, Hazrat Omar, Miraj Wazir and Ashfaq Wazir (killed on October 27), Taj Gul Mehsud (killed on October 26), Janbaz Zadran of the Haqqani network (killed on October 13), Aleemullah aka Haleemullah (killed on September 30), al-Qaeda's chief of operation in Pakistan Abu Hafs al-Shahri (killed on September 11), Dr Ayman Zawahiri's No 2 in al-Qaeda Atiyah Abd al-Rahman (killed on August 22), and Commander Ilyas Kashmiri (killed on June 3, 2011).



Eight important al-Qaeda leaders were killed in a record number of 122 drone strikes which were carried out by the CIA in Pakistan in 2008. Those who were hunted down included Ali Marjan (killed on December 17), al-Qaeda chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan Sheikh al-Fateh, (killed on September 26), Ameer Moawia (killed on August 14), al-Qaeda's No3 Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (killed on May 21), al-Qaeda planner and explosives expert Saddam Hussein Al Hussami, also known as Ghazwan Al-Yemeni (killed on March 8), Egyptian-Canadian al-Qaeda leader Sheikh Mansoor (killed on February 17), the chief of the Turkistani Islamic Party Abdul Haq al-Turkistani (killed on February 15) and Mahmood Mahdi Zeidan (killed on January 7, 2010).



The Americans had conducted 54 drone strikes in 2009 and successfully killed 10 wanted al-Qaeda leaders. Those killed by the US drones included a well known al-Qaeda commander Zuhaib al-Zahibi (killed on December 17), chief of al-Qaeda external operations Saleh al-Somali (killed on December 8), Nazimuddin Zalalov alias Yahyo, an Islamic Jehad of Uzbekistan leader and a lieutenant of a- Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden (killed on September 14), al-Qaeda-linked ameer of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Commander Baitullah Mehsud (killed on August 5), Osama bin Laden's son Saad Bin Laden (killed on July 22), Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Sangeen (killed on June 23), an Algerian al-Qaeda planner wanted by CIA Abu Suleman al Jazairi (killed on April 29), and Osama al Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, two al-Qaeda terrorists wanted for their role in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in African countries (killed on January 7, 2009).



A record number of 14 wanted al-Qaeda leaders were killed in 36 drone strikes carried out by US drones in Pakistan in 2008. Those terminated included Abu Zubair al Masri (killed on November 22), Abdullah Azzam al Saudi (killed on November 19), al-Qaeda's propaganda chief Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim aka Abu Jehad al Masri (killed on October 31), Mohammad Omar (killed on October 26), Khalid Habib (killed on October 16), al-Qaeda's chief of cross-border operations against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan Abu Hassan al Rimi (killed on October 8), the then al-Qaeda chief in Pakistan Abu Haris (killed on September 8), al-Qaeda logistician Abu Wafa Al Saudi (killed on September 4), Abdul Rehman and Islam Wazir (killed on August 12), al-Qaeda's WMD expert Abu Khabab al Masri (killed on July 28) Abu Sulayman Jazairi, another Algerian al-Qaeda planner distinct from a person of same name killed in April 2009 (killed on May 14), and the No2 in al-Qaeda hierarchy Abu Laith al Libi, who had orchestrated a 2007 suicide attack against US Vice President Dick Cheney while he was visiting Bagram (killed on January 29, 2008).



The American CIA had conducted four drone attacks in Pakistan in 2007 and two such strikes in 2006 but no key al-Qaeda leader could be killed in those six attacks. But two important al-Qaeda leaders were killed in three drone attacks which were conducted by the CIA in 2005. Those killed inside the Pakistani territory in those strikes included a top al-Qaeda commander Abu Hamza Rabia (killed on December 1) and al-Qaeda's explosives' expert from Yemen, Haitham al-Yemeni (killed on May 18, 2005).



The primary target of the drone strikes remains al-Qaeda's external operations network, which is assigned to conduct attacks outside Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, there are still many key al-Qaeda leaders who are on the hit list of the CIA but have survived the drone attacks so far. Some of them included al-Qaeda chief Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, the ameer of Afghan Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar, al-Qaeda's chief operational commander for Pakistan and Afghanistan Saif Al Adal, operational commander of Haqqani militant network Sirajuddin Haqqani, al-Qaeda's official spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghath, spiritual leader of al-Qaeda Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, al-Qaeda's field commander for operations in Afghanistan, etc.



The CIA hit list carries the names of six key al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militant leaders from Pakistan who are considered common enemies by Washington and Islamabad. They include the fugitive TTP ameer Hakimullah Mehsud, his No2 Waliur Rehman, Maulvi Faqeer Mohammad, Hafiz Gul Buhadar, Maulvi Nazir and Ehsanullah Ehsan.

You can add a few more since December 2012. 50th al-Qaeda leader killed in 338th drone strike - thenews.com.pk
 

Ray

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Christ on crunch!

They are taking quite a beating!

To imagine that the US with total glee is violating Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

No wonder the wail from the Pakistanis.

I feel sorry for Pakistan that they have brought this upon themselves because of that fundamentalist radical, Zia, who created this snake in their womb!
 

average american

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2013 Looks like a good year also.

By ABDUL SATTAR and SEBASTIAN ABBOT -- The Associated Press

QUETTA, Pakistan -- A bomb targeting paramilitary soldiers killed 12 people in southwest Pakistan on Thursday, while five suspected militants died in a U.S. drone strike in the country's northwest, officials said.

Separately, an explosion ripped through a crowded mosque in the northwest city of Mingora, killing 21 people and injuring more than 70 others, said hospital official Mian Gul Aleem. The blast was caused by a gas cylinder that exploded, said senior police official Gul Afzal Khan.

The drone strike was the seventh in two weeks, one of the most intense series of attacks in the past two years. During that period, political tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan led to a reduced number of strikes compared to 2010, when they were at their highest.

It's unclear whether the current uptick has been caused by particularly valuable intelligence obtained by the CIA, or whether the warming of relations between the two countries has made strikes less sensitive. Protests by the government and Islamic hardliners have been noticeably muted.

The U.S. views drone attacks as a key weapon against Taliban and al-Qaida militants out of its forces' reach in Pakistan's tribal region. But the attacks are extremely unpopular in Pakistan, posing a problem for the Pakistani government, which has played a double game in the past of denouncing the strikes in public while supporting some of them in private.

The strike on Thursday occurred in a village near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in the North Waziristan tribal area, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

North Waziristan is located next to the Afghan border and is the main militant sanctuary in Pakistan. The U.S. has repeatedly pushed Pakistan to launch a military offensive in the area, but Islamabad has refused, saying its troops are stretched too thin fighting domestic militants who pose a threat to the state.

However, many analysts believe Pakistan is reluctant to target Afghan Taliban militants with whom it has historical ties and who could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw. Pakistan is also worried about potential backlash from militants who have so far directed their fight against coalition forces in Afghanistan rather than the Pakistani state.

Thursday's strike occurred in an area dominated by powerful militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is believed to have a nonaggression pact with the Pakistani military.
US Ramps Up Pakistan Drone Strikes
 

average american

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U.S. Drones Pound Pakistan, Which Responds by Doing Exactly Nothing

Make that seven U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan during the first 10 days of 2013. But the recent uptick in drone strikes hasn't yet coincided with a resurgence in Pakistani outrage that marred Washington's relationship with Islamabad in 2012.

At least five people are dead in a drone strike near Mir Ali, in North Waziristan, launched on Thursday. That makes seven drone strikes in Pakistan since 2013 began, with an estimated death toll, according to Danger Room's tally, of at least 40 people. (One of the strikes on Tuesday killed a "key al-Qaida commander" named Sheikh Yasin al-Kuwaiti, the Long War Journal reports.) By contrast, in 2012, the U.S. launched 43 drone strikes in Pakistan, with an average pause of between 7 and 8 days between them. Even beyond the drones, Thursday was a violent day in Pakistan: A pair of bombings in Baluchistan left at least 32 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

Some observers are starting to think the drop off in U.S. drone strikes was a strategic pause — buying time before a ramp-up that appears to be underway, even before White House drone overseer John Brennan becomes CIA director.

The reaction from Pakistan has been "noticeably muted," as the Associated Press observes. The Pakistani government has yet to issue a condemnation of the new strikes. The Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, was said to be traveling; other Pakistani officials in Washington have yet to respond to Danger Room's request for comment.

According to Pakistani press reports, tribesman rallied on Saturday in the "thousands" to protest the killing of Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir, who had reached a truce with the Pakistani military. So far, the main Pakistani politician speaking out against the drones is Imran Khan, who condemned the new strikes on Sunday as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.

Khan led a high-profile pilgrimage last year to Taliban-controlled parts of South Waziristan to raise Pakistani awareness about the U.S.' lethal drone campaign. Although Khan had to turn back because of the security risk, his march was part of a year of setbacks for Washington's relationship with Pakistan.

For the first half of the year, Pakistan blocked NATO logistics shipments through its territory, in protest of a chaotic November 2011 U.S. assault in eastern Afghanistan that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead. It took a U.S. apology for Pakistan to reopen its border to trucks resupplying the Afghanistan war. The closure reflected lingering acrimony in Islamabad related to U.S. counterterrorism efforts, from the drones to the Afghanistan war, and especially the unilateral Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden. While the Pakistani had quietly tolerated the drone campaign for years, in December 2011 it kicked the CIA out of a Pakistani airbase it had loaned the agency for years.

"We will seek an end to drone strikes and there will be no compromise on that," Amb. Rehman told the Aspen Security Forum in July.

Reportedly, Pakistan's spy chief, Lt. Gen. Zaheerul Islam, reiterated that demand in a summer meeting at Langley with then-CIA director David Petraeus. The U.S. drone strikes hardly ended in 2012, but the U.S. launched fewer of them in Pakistan than at any time since President Obama took office.

It's still very early in 2013, but some are starting to think the drone reprieve is done. The U.S. needed to slow the the drones' roll in 2012, a former Pakistani official tells Danger Room, so that anti-U.S. anger in Islamabad could die down. At a certain, unknown point, the ex-official added, an uptick in drone strikes will prompt greater official Pakistani outrage. But until then, the U.S. has some leeway to attack (especially if the U.S. offs militants that the Pakistani army and intelligence service want killed).

That outrage may not sway Washington. At the White House, Brennan has had little sympathy for the concerns of Pakistani intelligence, according to the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Brennan is do-what-we-must," the former official added, citing the unilateral bin Laden raid as evidence. Should Pakistani officials break their silence about the drone escalation, they may soon encounter a deaf ear at Langley.
U.S. Drones Pound Pakistan, Which Responds by Doing Exactly Nothing | Danger Room | Wired.com

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...e&fr=yfp-t-701&va=pakistan+drone+strikes+2013
 
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Ray

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Could be the last one as well
How could it be the last one.

US run out of Drones?

I can't believe it that 07 Drones attacks in just 10 days!

The Americans are getting real trigger happy and the Pakistanis are proving to be prime targets.

Sad that the US is so relentlessly pursuing the Pakistanis/ Pakistan supported terrorists.
 
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average american

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Quran ( 9:11) -- For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

(Note the verse number!!!!!)
 

JBH22

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Quran ( 9:11) -- For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

(Note the verse number!!!!!)
hahaha

Between there is Russia ( double headed eagle) and USA (eagle) who can fit in this.

So who will pacify the followers of religion of peace.
 

JBH22

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So pakistan national bird Drone is doing its job!!!
There is a joke that goes like that.

The average Pakistani when walking down the streets look up high in the sky..

Its not because he/she is proud of Pakistan achievements but rather look out for US drones.
 

average american

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We know that Pakistan knew where Osama was and where Omar is
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tells ABC News he believes senior Pakistani officials knew Osama Bin Laden's location and has "no doubt" they know the location of other top terrorists, including Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

"At high levels, high levels being the intelligence service ... they knew it," Levin said in an interview for ABC's "Subway Series" With Jonathan Karl
Sen. Carl Levin believes high-level Pakistani officials knew Osama bin Laden's location. - ABC News
 

farhan_9909

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noobs question

*Will Pakistan scramble the F-16 to shoot down the predator or JFT
*Anza MKII will be used or Anza MK3?

any idea?

With taking down 11 predator drone,PAF will achieve 1 dozen target

11(predator)+1xIndian(searcher made in israel)
 

datguy79

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noobs question

*Will Pakistan scramble the F-16 to shoot down the predator or JFT
*Anza MKII will be used or Anza MK3?

any idea?

With taking down 11 predator drone,PAF will achieve 1 dozen target

11(predator)+1xIndian(searcher made in israel)
lol you wouldn't dare do that...next thing you know uncle sam will scramble the f-22s just for the PAF
 

gokussj9

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noobs question

*Will Pakistan scramble the F-16 to shoot down the predator or JFT
*Anza MKII will be used or Anza MK3?

any idea?

With taking down 11 predator drone,PAF will achieve 1 dozen target

11(predator)+1xIndian(searcher made in israel)
Madrassa question: How many in Pakhana-stan are itching to meet their 72 by attempting to
shoot Predator drones?
 

average american

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Wonder if the families of the 80 people killed in a snooker hall in Pakistan like the idea of drones killing terrorist, wonder what the Pakistani retards have against snooker.

Pakistan air force is deteriorating fast, of course they start shooting down drones, the drones will take out the airforce.
 

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