Haqqani commander killed in Hell Fire strike

Reuters:
A CIA drone strike in Pakistan may have killed the operational commander of the Haqqani network, the insurgent group behind some of the most high-profile attacks on Western and Afghan government targets in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence officials and militant sources said on Saturday.

The officials said Badruddin Haqqani, who is also believed to handle the network's vital business interests and smuggling operations, may have been killed during a drone strike this week in Pakistan's tribal North Waziristan region.

One senior Pakistani intelligence official said Badruddin had fled a compound that he and other militants were in after it was hit by a missile, then was killed by a second drone strike on a car that he was in.

There was no official word on Badruddin's fate from the Haqqani network. Other intelligence officialswere more cautious.

"Our informers have told us that he has been killed in the drone attack on the 21st but we cannot confirm it," said one of the Pakistani intelligence officials.
... 
The Haqqani network is responsible for most of the major terror attack in Afghanistan.  Destroying the network is the only way to assure peace in Afghanistan.  A decapitation strike is a good start, but it is a large group and it will take a relentless campaign to destroy them.

The BBC has more on the strike.  Al Jazeera also says Badruddin was killed in a strike while the group was preparing a vehicle bomb.

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