CIA scores an AQ kill in Pakistani territory

Mystery of al-Qaeda man killed by CIA

By Rahimullah Yusufzai

PESHAWAR: The claim by the US intelligence officials and sections of the American media that a missile fired by a CIA predator aircraft over Pakistan earlier this week killed senior al-Qaeda operative Haitham al-Yemeni was apparently a reference to an incident near Mir Ali in North Waziristan on the night of May 8.

The government has denied the claim that the man was killed in Pakistani territory. Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad issued the denial and at the same time was quoted as saying that the incident could have taken place in neighbouring Afghanistan.

In the incident at 2am on May 8, a mysterious explosion in a wide-bodied car near Khushali village on Khaisoor Road south of Mir Ali town killed two persons. One of the victims was identified as Imam Din, son of Naeem Khan of Khushali village. The deceased Imam Din was a religious student, or a Talib.

The second victim of the explosion was never fully identified. There were reports at the time that the political administration of North Waziristan grappled with the issue for quote sometime as no family or clan came forward to claim his body. One report said he was eventually buried in the Sain Tangi village in the Frontier Region Bannu because some people felt the deceased belonged to the Janikhel Wazir tribe inhabiting that area. But even now one hears claims that the man was buried in Mir Ali or in Shawal, a remote border valley in North Waziristan.

Tribesmen were saying that a missile fired from the air had hit and destroyed the car. The mystery remained unsolved.

Many tribesmen in North Waziristan are now convinced that the second man killed in that incident was an Arab national. They were not aware of his name and nationality but speculation in the area was strong that the Arab man belonged to al-Qaeda. The ABC News television channel seems to have solved the mystery by identifying this man as Haitham al-Yemeni. Quoting US intelligence officials, the ABC News reported exclusively on May 13 that the senior al-Qaeda operative was killed by a missile fired from a CIA predator aircraft over Pakistan earlier this week.