Pak: US airstrike leaves 11 dead

By Shafqat Ali

Islamabad

Oct. 23: US drones on Thursday fired missiles into a madrasa run by a Taliban leader and killed at least 11 people, officials said. The air strike apparently targeting militant Jalaluddin Haqqani, a major target for the US forces, was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington. The madrasa in North Waziristan region, was set up by Haqqani during the 1980s against Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The madrasa was currently being run by one of Haqqani’s own commanders, Mullah Mansoor, and was recently used as a guest house for "international and local students travelling from other areas".

A similar missile strike targeting another house owned by Haqqani on September 8 killed 23 people, including members of Haqqani’s extended family, security officials said. Haqqani was one of the most prominent Afghan commanders who fought the Red Army between 1978 and 1989. He subsequently became close to Mullah Omar, the leader of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Since the fall of the Taliban, Haqqani has become one of the most active Taliban commanders launching attacks on international forces in Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan, security officials said.

His son Sirajuddin, also a leading Taliban commander, was an occasional visitor at the madrassa that was hit on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, 35 suspected militants were killed in various parts of Bajaur tribal region as Pakistani jet planes continued targeting their hideouts. Ground forces also pounded militants’ positions with cannon fire and mortar guns throughout the night.

Moreover, military planes also targeted a suspected hideout of local Taliban commander Maulvi Omer in Badan, killing eight of his associates.