Haqqani commander, 2 others killed in US drone strike in Pak

PESHAWAR: A top Haqqani Network commander and two militants were killed when a US drone targeted a home in Pakistan’s restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The drone fired two missiles at the house in Speen Thall. Haqqani Network commander Nasir Mehmood alias Ihsanullah Khurya and two others were killed, news reports said.

Sources in Orakzai Agency said the strike targeted a Haqqani Network hideout. A source close to the Haqqani group confirmed that at least one mid-level Afghan commander had been killed.

In the first US drone strike of the year on January 17, a man was injured in Kurram tribal region.

Drone strikes have surged in Kurram Agency after US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new Afghan policy in August. Trump accused Pakistan of providing “safe havens to agents of chaos”.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry condemned t he “unilateral action”, which it said was carried out by Nato’s Us-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan and targeted an Afghan refugee camp.

The US embassy in Islamabad declined to comment and there was no immediate comment from Nato forces in Kabul.

Pakistan has repeatedly said drone strikes on its soil are a violation of its sovereignty and detrimental to cooperation with the US.