Powerful Taliban Commander Killed In Pakistan
(AFP) - The US military in Afghanistan said Saturday that a Taliban-linked militant leader wanted by Washington had been killed in neighbouring Pakistan.
Darim Sedgai was ambushed by unknown gunmen on January 16 and died of his wounds, the military said in a statement.
The military described him as a “powerful commander” linked to a top Taliban leader, Siraj Haqqani, but did not provide any further details of the incident.
The US military here reportedly announced a 50,000-dollar bounty for Sedgai in October last year, saying he was wanted for his ties to Taliban and Al-Qaeda militant groups.
Sedgai was the third rebel commander in Haqqani’s network to die in recent months, the statement said.
Haqqani, the son of famous anti-Russian commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, joined the Taliban during their advance towards Kabul in 1996 and is their top commander in eastern Afghanistan. He has a 200,000 dollar bounty on his head.
An alliance of Afghan opposition groups and US-led forces overthrew the 1996-2001 Taliban regime when it did not surrender Al-Qaeda leaders after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Taliban militants have since been waging an increasingly bloody insurgency aimed at toppling the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, which is supported by more than 60,000 foreign troops.
Afghan and Western officials say Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels have bases in the rugged Pakistani tribal areas along the border.
Pakistani troops are battling rebels along the frontier and have launched a major operation in the tribal stronghold of an Al-Qaeda-linked militant blamed for the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
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Let’s see now 40,000 enemy KIA’s plus oh roughly 20,000 WIA or captured from 300,000 is what? That’s right…we got a long way to go. Line up the next target and let’s get ‘er done.
January 26th, 2008 at 2:28 pm“Darim Sedgai was ambushed by unknown gunmen”
For the bounty or was it a power struggle?
January 26th, 2008 at 4:16 pmOPERATION ENDURING BOREDOM
http://www.bucksargent.net/2006/05/operation-enduring-boredom-episode-xii.html
The nom de guerre of a noncommissioned officer (NCO) on active duty in the United States Army, “Buck” is an infantry veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and is on deck for a third tour. His chief operating principle: “Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way.”
January 26th, 2008 at 4:20 pm