Commander among two militants killed in drone attack

KALAYA/HANGU: Two militants of Haqqani network, including a commander, were killed in a US drone strike in Orakzai Agency, official sources said on Tuesday.

The sources said the drone fired two missiles that hit the hideout of a Haqqani network commander in Lewal Killay in Spin Thall area in Orakzai Agency adjacent to Hangu district. The structure was destroyed in the drone strike and the commander, Omar aka Abu Bakr, and another militant were killed. Some reports claimed that four militants were killed in the strike, but this was unconfirmed as most accounts said only two persons were killed. 

Militant sources said Omar aka Abu Bakr hailed from the Khost province in Afghanistan. They said he was a little known commander of Haqqani network heading a group of about 10 fighters. They said the drone strike took place at the time of Sehr. The residents said that drone was hovering over Spin Thall area of Orakzai Agency and Thall tehsil of Hangu district for a long time after the attack.

The officials of Kurram and Orakzai tribal regions and Hangu district said that the area did not fall in their jurisdictions. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Thall, Shaukat Bukhari said that the house that was targeted by the drone was situated in Orakzai Agency.

Political Tehsildar of the upper Orakzai Agency, Khaista Akbar said that the militant's hideout was targeted in Thall tehsil of Hangu district while the administration of Kurram Agency also claimed that the area was outside their jurisdiction.

District Police Officer Hangu, Ihsanullah said that the US drone hit the militants in Kurram Agency. The conflicting statements by the officials created confusion, though it seems the actual place where the drone strike took place was in Orakzai Agency. The sources said the bodies of the militants were shifted to an undisclosed location after the drone attack.

It may be recalled that several militants of Haqqani network were killed in a drone strike on a seminary in Tandaro locality in Thall tehsil of Hangu district some four years back. Among the dead was a prominent commander Ahmad Jan.