Haqqani network leader believed dead in drone strike

ISLAMABAD: The US drone strikes in North Waziristan early on Friday killed at least 18 people while a major militant leader is also believed to be killed in the same strikes, US newspaper The New York Times reported.

The newspaper quoted senior American officials said that they had strong indications that Badruddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network and brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, was killed in a drone strike this week.

“There are indications that Haqqani has met his demise,” a senior United States official said in Washington on Friday. He said that officials were waiting to sift through evidence, including information on jihadist Web sites, before they could be certain that Haqqani had been killed.

The caution stems from previous erroneous claims by American and Pakistani officials about militant deaths in Waziristan, a notoriously difficult place to get reliable information. But if confirmed, Haqqani’s death would be a major benefit to the military coalition in Afghanistan.

He is considered second in seniority to the Haqqani network’s leader, his older brother Sirajuddin Haqqani. Both men are believed to direct operations in Afghanistan from their haven in North Waziristan, where they have allied with local warlords and enjoy longstanding clan ties.