Army says no confirmation on Al Shahri’s death

Pakistan military has ‘no knowledge’ of drone attack targets .

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan had no confirmation that al Qaeda’s chief of operations in the country had been killed in a recent drone strike in the northwestern tribal region, as reported by American officials.

Abu Hafs al Shahri, a Saudi national who had been serving as the senior figure in al Qaeda’s central command, was the target of the drone strike which occurred within the last few days, two US officials said on Thursday.

“We have no knowledge of that,” said Pakistan military spokesman Major Gen Athar Abbas on Friday.

“We have neither heard of this man operating in this region, nor can we confirm his death,” said an intelligence official operating in the tribal regions near the Afghan border.

While US officials declined to provide details, the only drone strike this month occurred on Sunday when a US drone targeted a militant compound in North Waziristan that killed at least three suspected militants. If confirmed, Al Shahri would be the sixth senior al Qaeda figure killed by either US or Pakistani forces in Pakistan since May with the death of their chief Osama bin Laden in a secret US raid in Abbottabad.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials said two of the dead in that strike were Pakistani militants, but had no information about the third target. One of the US officials said al Shahri’s responsibilities included coordinating the activities of al Qaeda’s  leadership with the Tehreek-i-Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th,  2011.