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Senior Haqqani Leader Dead in Khost Airstrike

Senior Haqqani Leader Dead  in Khost Airstrike

KHOST CITY/KABUL - A senior Haqqani network leader and two of his associates were killed during a precision airstrike in southeastern Khost province, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced on Wednesday.
The militant leader killed Musakhel district was identified as Dilawar, a principal subordinate to Haji Mali Khan, who was captured a week ago, the NATO-led force said, calling the killing a significant loss for the Taliban-allied group.

A statement from ISAF said Dilawar operated along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border between Khost and Paktiya provinces, where he coordinated attacks against Afghan forces and facilitated the movement of weapons.

"Prior to Khan's capture, he worked closely with Dilawar planning attacks throughout the area. Specifically, Dilawar had just conducted an ambush on Afghan forces in Paktia province last month," the statement added.

Khost police spokesman Col. Ziarat Gul confirmed to Pajhwok Afghan News the coalition operation and Dilawar's killing. However, he denied Afghan forces' participation in the offensive.

According to ISAF, so far during 2011 Afghan and NATO-led forces have conducted more than 530 operations to disrupt Haqqani network activities in eastern Afghanistan, resulting in the death of 20 network leaders and the capture of more than 1,400 suspects.