Pakistani officials: U.S. drones killed key militant
Strike occurred the day after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry’s protested such actions.
A U.S. drone strike last week near the Afghan border killed the son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani militant network, Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Badruddin Haqqani, known as the organization's day-to-day operations commander, was killed on Aug. 24 in one of three strikes that hit militant hideoutsin Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, said two senior intelligence officials. This deals a blow to one of the most feared groups fighting American troops in Afghanistan.
The strike took place just a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned a senior U.S. diplomat Aug. 23 to protest drone strikes in the country’s northwest tribal region near the Afghan border.
U.S. officials show no sign of ramping down attacks, amid thorny diplomatic questions on the transparency of the drone program and sovereignty issues involving Pakistan.