Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsExclusive: Senior al Qaeda figure killed in drone strike
Source; Reuters
Exclusive: Senior al Qaeda figure killed in drone strike
By Mark Hosenball and Chris Allbritton
Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:45pm EST
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD Jan 19 (Reuters) - A militant who acted as a senior operations organizer for al Qaeda was targeted and killed in one of two U.S. drone strikes launched against targets inside Pakistan last week, a U.S. official said.
U.S. and Pakistani sources told Reuters that the target of the attack was Aslam Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by a U.S. commando team. They said he was targeted in a strike by a U.S.-operated drone on January 10 directed at what news reports said was a compound near the town of Miranshah in the border province of North Waziristan.
That strike broke an undeclared eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed, unmanned drones that patrol Pakistan's tribal areas and are a key weapon in U.S. President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism strategy.
The sources described Awan, who also was known by the nom-de-guerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a significant figure in the remaining core leadership of al Qaeda, which U.S. officials say has been sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of the drone attacks are conducted as part of a clandestine CIA operation.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
By Mark Hosenball and Chris Allbritton
Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:45pm EST
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD Jan 19 (Reuters) - A militant who acted as a senior operations organizer for al Qaeda was targeted and killed in one of two U.S. drone strikes launched against targets inside Pakistan last week, a U.S. official said.
U.S. and Pakistani sources told Reuters that the target of the attack was Aslam Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by a U.S. commando team. They said he was targeted in a strike by a U.S.-operated drone on January 10 directed at what news reports said was a compound near the town of Miranshah in the border province of North Waziristan.
That strike broke an undeclared eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed, unmanned drones that patrol Pakistan's tribal areas and are a key weapon in U.S. President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism strategy.
The sources described Awan, who also was known by the nom-de-guerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a significant figure in the remaining core leadership of al Qaeda, which U.S. officials say has been sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of the drone attacks are conducted as part of a clandestine CIA operation.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/us-usa-pakistan-drones-idUSTRE80I2G120120119
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
6 replies, 1241 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (5)
ReplyReply to this post
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Exclusive: Senior al Qaeda figure killed in drone strike (Original Post)
Eugene
Jan 2012
OP
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)1. Did we kill any brown children in this strike??
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)2. All right! More summary executions!
It's the American way.
Curiously, for all the blabber about killing another allegedly very, very bad person, there's no mention of any collateral damage. Which is to say, who else got killed in this drone strike for the capital crime of Being Too Near A Terrorist And It Serves Them Right?
When retribution comes, just remember that you or someone you care about got killed by a nasty terrorist because they hate us for our freedom.
demosincebirth
(12,536 posts)3. So long Anslam, have a nice trip.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)4. So how much did this co$t?
Drones ain't cheap.
IamK
(956 posts)5. Hellfire missiles are about 70K each.... but they normally fire 2...
joshcryer
(62,270 posts)6. 2 month break in targeted killing?
Gotta be a record for Obama.