At least six Al Qaeda commanders were killed during the recent US drone attack in the Dattakhel area of North Waziristan tribal region, a report published in The Long War Journal quoted a leader of the group as saying.

Head of Al Qaeda's "victory committee", Sanafi al-Nasr, who is based in Syria, via microblogging website Twitter said that six members from the group were killed in the July 10 drone attack.

The drone attack of July 10 was the first one since the army launched Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan on June 15.

At the time of the strike, it could not be confirmed who were the others among the killed.

Nasr is a Saudi national whose real name is Abdul Mohsin Abdullah Ibrahim Al Sharikh, the report said, adding that he is responsible for developing and implementing Qaeda’s strategy and policies.

Nasr was based in the Waziristan tribal belt before relocating to Syria.

While tweeting on the Qaeda members, Nasr named three of them — Taj Al Makki, Abu Abdur Rahman Al Kuwaiti and Fayez Awda Al Khalidi. He did not name the remaining three.

Makki from Saudi Arabia, Rahman from Kuwait and Khalidi were mid-level commanders and were important to the terror group due to their association with Nasr, The Long War Journal said in its report.

The Long War Journal moreover quoted an unnamed US intelligence official as sayng that it was very likely that the six Al Qaeda members were killed in the July 10 strike.

Opinion

Editorial

Kabul visit
Updated 26 Mar, 2025

Kabul visit

Islamabad should continue to emphasise that presence of terrorists on Afghan soil stands in the way of normal commercial ties.
Drought warning
26 Mar, 2025

Drought warning

DRIVEN by rising temperatures linked to climate change, increasing drought events across Pakistan have affected tens...
Deadly roads
26 Mar, 2025

Deadly roads

DESPITE daytime restrictions on heavy vehicles, Karachi continues to witness one horrific traffic accident after...
Shortcut tactics
Updated 25 Mar, 2025

Shortcut tactics

IMF’s decision to veto move to reduce retail power tariffs seems to be against interests of middle-class consumers.
Unforced error
Updated 25 Mar, 2025

Unforced error

State must not push ordinary citizens away with its excesses when dealing with Balochistan.
Losing again
25 Mar, 2025

Losing again

WHEN Pakistan’s high-risk Twenty20 approach did not work, there was no fallback plan and they collapsed in a heap...