South Waziristan: Drone strike kills suspected militant

Unmanned US drone targeted the suspect who was praying in an open field outside his home.

PESHAWAR:

A US drone fired two missiles in South Waziristan Agency on Saturday, killing a suspected militant, local security officials said.

The unmanned US drone targeted the suspect, identified as foreigner Abdur Rahman Yamani, who was praying in an open field outside his home in the Ghwa Khwa area in Wana subdivision of South Waziristan.

A security official from the area said that, after the assault, militants from the nearby areas rushed to the site and surrounded the area, said to be a stronghold of warlord Mullah Nazir.

“The targeted militant is suspected to be a key commander of an al Qaeda-linked Taliban group,” a security official told AFP.

Another official confirmed the attack, saying that the man killed was a key operative.

“We suspect that the killed militant was a foreigner and a key commander. However, his identity and country of origin was not immediately clear,” he said. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2012.