Qari Hussain

Qari Hussain Ahmad Mehsud قارى حسین احمد

Qari Hussain Mehsud
Born Kokai, near Spinkai Raghzai, South Waziristan
Allegiance Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Years of service 2000s to October 2010
Battles/wars

War on Terror:

Relations Hakimullah Mehsud (cousin, deceased)

Qari Hussain Ahmad Mehsud (Pashto/Urdu: قارى حسین احمد) (died October 7, 2010) was a top lieutenant in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the organizer of the group's suicide bombing squads.[1][2] He was a cousin of Hakimullah Mehsud.[3]

Operations

Hussain ran a training camp for suicide bombers in South Waziristan[4] and had been active in violent acts against the Pakistani government. In May 2007 he directed a campaign of attacks in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The attacks included targeted killings of tribal elders and political agents, and attacks on police which resulted in many civilian deaths.

The violent nature of the attacks almost led to a split with Baitullah Mehsud, who at the time was amir of the TTP. On June 1, 2007, Mehsud captured 17 of Hussain's men and threatened to kill them in retaliation for a particularly brutal attack upon the residence of Pir Amiruddin Shah, the Political Agent of Khyber Agency, which killed guests and family members and had been undertaken without Mehsud's consent.[5] However, Hussain was still a commander of Taliban forces.

Hussain was reported dead after his home was destroyed in January 2008, but in May 2008 appeared in front of Pakistani media to deny the reports.[4][6][7] He was later reported killed in a 23 June 2009 airstrike at Makeen in South Waziristan, but then phoned reporters to prove he was alive.[8] A few days after the airstrike, the Pakistan government announced a 10 million rupee reward for the killing or capture of Hussain, among other Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan commanders.[8] On November 2, 2009 the reward was increased to 50 million rupees ($600,000) [9][10][11]

A report by the Press Trust of India cited sources affirming that Hussain was killed on January 14, 2010, in the American drone airstrike in North Waziristan that reportedly killed Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud;[12] however, Hussain apparently spoke with local media by telephone to deny Mehsud's death.[13] The News International later reported that "top Pakistani and US sources" confirmed Hussain's death in the same drone strike against Mehsud.[14] However, he once again appeared in an interview, speaking with Rediff.com in March 2010, and again denying Mehsud's death.[15]

Hussain claimed responsibility for the 2010 Times Square car bomb attempt in an audiotape that was posted on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel on the website YouTube.[16] Authorities in Pakistan believe that Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who admitted to planting the Times Square car bomb, was introduced to Hussain via Mohammad Rehan, and subsequently received explosives training before he returned to the United States.[17][18]

On October 15, 2010, several reports came out indicating that Qari Hussain was killed in an American drone strike. Geo TV said that he and five Turks were killed on October 2 in the Dattakhel area.[19] The Press Trust of India stated that he and three others were killed on October 7 outside of Miranshah in Jungle Khel.[20] While Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq denied these reports were true, Qari Hussein never contacted media to confirm his survival.[21] On October 26, a senior Taliban operative as well as a counter terrorism expert contacted the Asia Times confirming Mehsud's death, and that he was killed by the October 7th drone strike.[22]

The TTP officially confirmed Mehsud's death in December 2013.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Masood, Salman (2009-10-06). "Pakistan Braces for Taliban Attacks as It Prepares Offensive". New York Times (New York City: The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  2. ↑ Hasan, Syed Shoaib; M Ilyas Khan (2009-03-26). "Profile: Baitullah Mehsud". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  3. ↑ "Pakistan offers Taliban bounties". BBC News. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  4. 1 2 Roggio, Bill (2008-05-25). "Taliban commander Qari Hussain survived military operation in Waziristan". The Long War Journal.
  5. ↑ Khan, Behroz; David Montero (2007-07-02). "Pakistan's Taliban fight each other". The Christian Science Monitor.
  6. ↑ Khattak, Iqbal (2008-05-26). "Tailban chief ideologist survives ‘Zalzala’". Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  7. ↑ "Waziristan militant commander killed?". Daily Times. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  8. 1 2 Yusufzai, Rahimullah (2009-06-29). "US, Pakistan both offer head money for Baitullah". The News International. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  9. ↑ "Pakistan offers Taliban bounties". BBC News. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  10. ↑ "Deadly blast rocks Pakistani city". Al Jazeera (Doha: Aljazeera IT). 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  11. ↑ "Government offers reward for leads on Taliban chiefs". Dawn (Dawn Media Group). 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  12. ↑ "‘Hakimullah’s likely successor also killed’". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 2010-02-03.
  13. ↑ "Taliban denies leader is dead". Al Jazeera. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  14. ↑ Abraham, Sami (2010-03-01). "US shy of confirming Hakimullah’s death". The News International. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  15. ↑ "Exclusive: Taliban suicide squad chief speaks". Rediff.com. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  16. ↑ Roggio, Bill (2010-05-02). "Pakistani Taliban claim credit for failed NYC Times Square car bombing". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  17. ↑ Shahzad, Syed Saleem (2010-05-05). "Pakistan: NY bomb suspect 'met Taliban explosives expert'". Adnkronos. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  18. ↑ "Times Square Bomb Suspect Met With Key Taliban Leader, Pakistani Officials Say". Fox News. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  19. ↑ "Drone kills wanted TTP operative in NWA". Geo TV. 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  20. ↑ "Taliban's No. 2 killed in US drone attack in Pakistan". Press Trust of India. 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  21. ↑ Search Results ttps top gun qari hussain killed | Latest news, Breaking news, Pakistan News, World news, business, sport and multimedia | DAWN.COM
  22. ↑ Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan
  23. ↑ http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/taliban_eulogize_qar.php
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.