US drone attacks kill senior Haqqani commander in Pakistan

Senior commander of the Haqqani network Janbaz Zadran – also known as “Jalil” – was killed near Miran Shah by a US drone strike in northwest Pakistan according to officials.

The network linked with the al-Qaeda was accused by the US of coordinating several attacks in Afghanistan during the last few months.

The same strike also killed at least four other people, while a separate drone strike in South Wazirstan killed at least three more.

Speaking anonymously, US and Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed the death of Zadran and one US official said Zadran was, “the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield and had played a central role in helping the Haqqani network attack US and coalition targets in Kabul and south-eastern Afghanistan”.

Although not claiming responsibility for the drone attacks in Pakistan, the US forces were the only ones to deploy the unmanned Predator aircraft in the region.

Since the death of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, some 30 drone raids have been reported in Pakistan and have angered Pakistanis because civilians in their hundreds have been killed since raids began in 2008.