Al-Qaeda ‘Leader’ Killed in US Strike in Afghanistan: Pentagon
An al-Qadea insurgent, who was responsible for the death of two American soldiers and accused of involvement in a deadly attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s cricket team in 2009, was killed in a U.S airstrike in Afghanistan this week, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The strike took place on March 19 in Paktika province and killed Qari Yasin, “a well-known [Qaeda] terrorist leader,” who had ties to the Tehreek-e-Taliban, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, according to the statement.
“The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice,” U.S Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in the statement. Quoted from (Tolo news).
The statement said that Yasin was responsible for a 2008 bombing on a hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, which killed dozens of people including two American soldiers.
On Sunday, Pakistani security sources and Islamist militants said that a U.S drone air strike in Afghanistan had killed Yasin, also known as Ustad Aslam.
The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus led to Pakistan’s exclusion from the role of hosting major international tours. At least 10 gunmen fired on the bus with rifles, grenades and rockets, wounding six players and a British coach, and killing eight Pakistanis.
