Pakistan air strike bodies buried, Qaeda death not confirmed: army

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The bodies from a missile strike that killed several militants have been buried and it was impossible to confirm or refute if a top Al-Qaeda operative was among them, the army said Friday.

~snip~

Our position is that who fired, who ordered, who removed the bodies etc is not known to us," chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

"We cannot negate nor confirm because the moment it happened, they removed the bodies and buried them. So, how would anybody confirm who got killed?" Abbas added, without elaborating on who buried the bodies.

A Pakistani interior spokesman said late Thursday that he had "no information" on the reported death of the Libyan militant, said to be a key link between Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080201/ts_afp/afghanistanunrestusqaedapakistan_080201053306

[gratuitous]

1. We got the number 3 guy again, didn't we?

At least, that's what the teevee told me last night. Don't tell me now that the news was rushed to broadcast without verification. Why, I might start to doubt what the teevee is saying.

[Igel]

3. That's the claim.

Something like the third #3 guy in 6 1/2 years.

Perhaps they should rename the job "the #4" job. Then we'd count, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 ..., and be able to say that 1 + 2 = 4.

[sofa king]

2. Patrick McGoohan must be chuckling.

Finally, someone has taken out more Number Twos than The Prisoner did.

[sabra]

4. Pakistani minister says unable to confirm al-Qaida commander's killing

Source: Xinhua

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan on Friday said the government had no information to confirm reports that a top al-Qaida operative had been killed in Pakistan, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Talking to reporters at the National Database Registration Authority headquarters here, Hamid Nawaz said the place where the explosion occurred in Mir Ali had already been cleared by militants when security personnel reached there.

"We cannot confirm al-Libi's death because the militants had removed bodies from the site where the explosion happened and the security personnel did not find any corpse," he said.

Media reports said that Abu Laith Al Libi, a senior al-Qaida commander had been killed in a missile attack in Mir Ali of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan late Monday.

Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/01/content_7546662.htm

[blayne]

5. I guess we can play in Pakistan after all.

[tabasco]

8. Too bad we didn't "play" there a little bit more instead of invading Iraq.

Bush let the Pakistanis "guard the border" during Tora Bora, when Bin Laden escaped into Pakistan.

Getting to fly unmanned airplanes when Pakistan gives us permission ain't gonna fix all of Bush's fuck ups.

[lyonn]

6. Ahhhh, election time - let the terrorist stories begin.

Then we will get tapes and/or videos of Osama or his right hand man declaring that they hope a Dem wins the coming election as we are easier to get along with. Course no mention of the continuing disaster in Iraq, just the opposite, the generals will line up and tell us how safe Iraq has become and that we are close to winning and will then remove our troops (ya, like in 20 years).

[maddezmom]

7. ANALYSIS-US strike on Qaeda leader seen as limited success

ANALYSIS-US strike on Qaeda leader seen as limited success 01 Feb 2008 20:47:23 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. success in killing a top al Qaeda operative this week showed that cooperation with Pakistan can be fruitful but security analysts said there were limits to what the present strategy can achieve.

Analysts said the unmanned Predator air strike that apparently killed Abu Laith al-Libi in a remote area of Pakistan demonstrated that the United States has the military reach and intelligence sources to carry out a precision attack on a specific target with Pakistani consent.

But U.S. participation in a ground offensive against al Qaeda strongholds along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is unlikely. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has publicly opposed it and the Pakistani military may not be able to mount effective operations deep in tribal frontier regions.

"The arrangement that appears to have been reached between the United States and Pakistan is that it's OK to cooperate on targeted strikes against al Qaeda leaders," said Seth Jones, a RAND Corp terrorism analyst who recently returned from the border region.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N01448410.htm

[tabasco]

9. These were probably enemies of Musharraf.

We will never know who they really were.

[pinniped]

10. I was 1/2 right when I said it was Chemical Ali III.

The Pakistanis always ruin the US's propaganda.

[ohio2007]

11. Al-Qeada 'Killing' Spawns Doubts ( jihadi websites posted he did die)

Al-Qeada 'Killing' Spawns Doubts

It was unusual for Islamist websites to break the news of the death of an important al-Qaeda operative as they did this week in the case of Abu Laith al-Libi. Two such websites - Ekhlaas.org and as-Sahab - which usually carry statements from al-Qaeda leaders, reported the story.
These websites and al-Qaeda and its affiliates usually deny any report of their operatives' deaths because the loss of a leading member of the network could be demoralising for its rank and file.

This change could mean one of two things.

Perhaps it was no longer possible to keep secret al-Libi's killing in an apparent US missile strike on a hideout of militants in a village near Mir Ali town in North Waziristan.


Or perhaps the intent was to say that he was dead, even though he may be alive, and prompt all those closing in on him to give up the chase.

snip

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1fa_1201948969


It does raise questions indeed. Even loyal AQ followers have been getting stonewalled when they ask questions also;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ask_al_qaida


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c41_1181250267