Al-Qaeda Leader Killed in Strike in Afghanistan

Local Editor

The US confirmed the death of a senior al-Qaeda leader targeted by a US drone strike in north eastern Afghanistan last month.

Farouq al-Qahtani, the group's leader for northeastern Afghanistan, was killed two weeks ago in what the Pentagon described as a "precision strike".

"This successful strike is another example of US operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the US homeland, our interests and our allies abroad," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

He was killed in a strike on October 23 in Kunar, Cook added.

Cook said the Pentagon was still assessing the outcome of another strike on the same day that targeted another leader in Afghanistan, Bilal al-Utabi, though the results of that attack were not yet known.

Saudi-born al-Qahtani was placed on a US list of most wanted terrorists in February.

He was said to be one of al-Qaeda's senior plotters against the US and had been assigned to re-establish safe havens in the country.

A Qatari national, al-Qahtani was also accused of involvement in plots targeting Europe.

Al-Qahtani had operated in Afghanistan since at least 2009 and led an al-Qaeda battalion since at least mid-2010.

His deputy Utabi was seen as the second- or third-most senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan.

Afghan government spokesman Abdul Ghani Mosamem said that 15 insurgents were killed in the operation on 23 October in the province of Kunar.

Those killed included two Arabs and a number of Pakistani Taliban militants.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team