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India-Pakistan
Drone kills top Talibunny Mullah Nazir
2013-01-03
An American drone strike killed a key Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, according to intelligence sources and tribal leaders on Thursday.

Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah "Lucky" Nazir, was killed Wednesday night when missiles struck a mud house in South Waziristan, according to the sources. He had survived at least one previous drone attack and was injured weeks earlier in a bomb attack believed to have been launched by Taliban rivals.

His key commanders and his deputy, Ratta Khan, were also killed in the attack at Angoor Adda, near the provincial capital of Wana.
So we got the number 2 and a whole bunch of number 3s? Most excellent!
Nazir had expelled foreign militants from his area, attacked US forces in Afghanistan and had signed non-aggression pacts with the Pakistani military in 2007 in 2009. That put him at odds with other Pakistan Taliban commanders, but earned him a reputation as a "good" Taliban among some in the Pakistan military.
But not among the American military...
Nazir's successor was announced before a crowd of thousands at his funeral, said a witness. People will be waiting to see if number 4 fellow Wazir tribesman Salahud Din Ayubi continues with Nazir's policies.

The military has a large base in Wana, where Nazir and his men were based. Nazir presided over an uneasy peace between the militants and the army there, but the truce was endangered by the military's alliance with the United States and drone strikes, a military officer said recently.
The only thing holding it together was the fact that if they split they couldn't use the PX anymore...
He said, "The (drone) program is making things very difficult for us. Nazir is the sole remaining major militant leader willing to be an ally. If he decides to side with (Pakistan Taliban leader) Hakimullah, thousands of fighters will come to the frontlines against the Pakistani military. It is in our interest to keep him neutral, if not on our side, because then we can direct our resources against anti-state militants with much greater efficiency."
Something that the mighty Pak army has been doing so well...
Posted by:ryuge

#12  Once again, personally I'll defer belief until either Ayman andor Mullah Omar + certain Other publicly confirm it.

Until then its just Bollyweird Propaganda, full of PCorrect Sound-n-Fury, meaning NUTHIN'!
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-01-03 22:42  

#11  Hmmm, polio vaccine flechettes. Someone call DARPA!
Posted by: SteveS   2013-01-03 21:55  

#10  Hope there was mixed-in Polio Vaccine in the missle. Or at least the needles used to administer it.
Posted by: Charles   2013-01-03 21:25  

#9  It's a good thing he banned those polio vaccinations. Otherwise he would have been killed by a drone strike!

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al   2013-01-03 19:35  

#8  subsequent funerals in that region would be conducted at night
Send the Yamamoto!
Posted by: Shipman   2013-01-03 18:44  

#7  Uh, I hope a number 3 isn't a number 2 coming out of where number 1 usually comes from...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2013-01-03 15:05  

#6  As 'brutal' as MS-NBC would call it, if you flattened one funeral (a.k.a., the famous 'Arclight'*), subsequent funerals in that region would be conducted at night and would be sparsely attended.


* No, that is not a call for drinks at the O-Club; it's in quotes.
Posted by: Steve White   2013-01-03 14:23  

#5  Nazir esta muerto? Somebody better keep a close eye on Sgt. Brody.
Posted by: Rob06   2013-01-03 14:23  

#4  Nazir's successor was announced before a crowd of thousands at his funeral, said a witness.

Isn't that what you call a target rich environment?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2013-01-03 12:24  

#3  once again, the Might Pak Army is the victim
Posted by: Frank G   2013-01-03 08:46  

#2  More reasons to dislike Nazir:

"In June 2012, Nazir banned polio vaccinations in his areas, and claimed that the program is being used by the US to gather intelligence and conduct drone strikes in the tribal areas. His action followed that of Hafiz Gul Bahadar, who shut down the program in North Waziristan earlier that month." - Long War Journal
Posted by: Glenmore   2013-01-03 08:37  

#1  Oh no! We killed the last good Talibunnies! Now all his fighters will go join Hakimullah and be bad Talibunnies. But since both kinds were happy to kill our guys, it really doesn't matter, does it?
Posted by: Glenmore   2013-01-03 07:29  

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