Hakimullah Escaped US Missile Attack Unhurt: Reports
In yesterday’s US drone strike on a meeting of extremist commanders close to the Afghan border, the leader of Pakistani Taliban, at whom the strike was apparently targeted, escaped unhurt, said Pakistani officials and extremists, reported Associated Press.
In the missile attack, as many as twelve insurgents are believed to be killed. Among the dead extremists, two were foreigners. At least eight others were injured in the attack, said report quoting unnamed officials.
According to report, three Pakistani intelligence officials and four extremists said that Hakimullah Mehsud was not among the dead. The extremists said that he was alive, safe, and traveling.
Washington sees Mehsud’s death as a major victory in its fight against Islamic extremists.
Mehsud appeared on a video released last week sitting next to the Jordanian who killed seven CIA employees in a suicide attack in December in Afghanistan, the report said.
Besides, Tehrik-e-Taliban has also claimed responsibility for scores of suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months against military, civilian, and government targets.
Yesterday’s US missile strike was the eighth such attack in two weeks in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, an unprecedented volley of drone attacks since the CIA-led program began in earnest two years ago.
According to Pakistani intelligence officials, one or more unmanned USspy planes fired at least two missiles into a large complex that had been used as a religious school near the border with South Waziristan soon after dawn broke, said report.
