Missile Kills Militant Commander’s Brother in Pakistan

The Brother, Mohammad Haqqani, was killed along with three others when their white station wagon was hit by a missile in Dande Darpakhel village of North Waziristan Bordering Afghanistan. Americans believe that the commander, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is CLOSELY affiliated with Al Qaeda and that his force is the most potent one working against international forces in eastern and central Afghanistan.

Dande Darpakhel, is about a mile north of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, and is considered the main base of the Haqqani network since the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. It has been a repeated target in missile strikes, one of which was believed To Have killed several members of the Haqqani clan last year.

According to a family friend of the Haqqanis, Mohammad, who was about 20, was on his way to see his brother, the commander, when the missile struck. The family friend in the village said Mohammad Haqqani was not an active member of the Militant Network and that his brother had wanted him to Pursue Religious Studies away from the area so that they could lead a more normal life. And Mohammad Sirajuddin, The Sons of a Militant leader named Jalaluddine Haqqani, an Afghan mother share and have an Arab step-mother. Funeral Prayers for Mohammad Haqqani in Miranshah were held Friday afternoon, said a resident of the city who was reached by phone.Read More Story,http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/world/asia/20pstan.html

Missile Kills Militant Commander’s Brother in Pakistan