Taliban Deny Haqqani Drone Strike Death Claim

RIA Novosti

11:03 26/08/2012 MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - The radical Islamic Taliban group denied on Sunday media reports that one of its key leaders, Badruddin Haqqani, was killed last week in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan in northwest Pakistan.

Badruddin Haqqani is son of the Afghan warlord Jalauddin Haqqani, leader of a group of several thousand fighters who are allied to the Taliban and regularly attack ISAF and Afghan government forces. Pakistani daily The Dawn described him as the group's day-to-day operations commander, while other media say he runs the group's business and smuggling operations.

Taliban press spokesman Zabiulla Modjhahed said on the Voice of Jihad website: "Badruddin Haqqani is alive and well, and is on Afghanistan territory," and said reports of his death were baseless.

The Dawn on Sunday quoted Pakistani officials saying they were "90 percent sure" Badruddin Haqqani died in the drone strike on Tuesday, 20 km (12 miles) from the town of Miranshah.

“There are indications that Haqqani has met his demise,” a senior United States official said in Washington on Friday, the New York Times reported.