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Brother of Key Afghan Warlord Killed in Drone Attack in Pakistan

   VOA News 19 February 2010

   Pakistan  officials  say  the brother of an Afghan warlord tied to the
   Taliban  has  been  killed  in  a  U.S. missile strike in northwestern
   Pakistan.

   Authorities  say Mohammed Haqqani was killed Thursday in the attack in
   the  Dandey  Darpa  Khel area of North Waziristan.  Three other people
   were  also  killed  in  the  strike  in the lawless tribal belt on the
   Afghan border.
   Haqqani is the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the senior leader of the
   Haqqani  network,  a  militant  group  with  ties  to al-Qaida and the
   Taliban.
   The  suspected  death of Mohammed Haqqani is the latest in a string of
   blows to militants operating in the region.
   Afghan  officials say two senior Taliban commanders who were acting as
   governors in northern Afghanistan were arrested Thursday in Pakistan.
   Officials  say  the two "shadow governors," Mullah Mohammad and Mullah
   Abdul Salam, were working in Kunduz and Baghlan provinces.
   They  took  on  the  roles  of  governing  the  provinces  without the
   authority of the central Afghan government in Kabul.
   Meanwhile,  Pakistani  officials say they have arrested at least three
   al-Qaida-linked militants in Karachi.
   The  arrests  come  just  days  after  U.S.  and  Pakistani  officials
   announced  the arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani, known as Mullah Baradar -
   the Taliban's top operational commander.
   The  recent  arrests of top Taliban militants are the most significant
   since the U.S.-led war began in late 2001.
   Elsewhere,  Pakistani  authorities say a bomb blast killed at least 29
   people near a mosque in the Khyber region near the Afghan border.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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