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Maulvi Nazir
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Islamabad, Jan. 3: An American drone strike killed a top Pakistani militant commander in a northwestern tribal region, security officials said today. The death of Maulvi Nazir was seen as a serious blow to Taliban fighters who attack US and allied forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The drone strike took place last night and targeted Nazir’s vehicle in the Angoor Adda area in South Waziristan. Five other people were also killed, including one of his key aides, officials said.
“He has been killed. It is confirmed,” said a senior Pakistani intelligence officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The vehicle he was travelling in was hit. Nazir was travelling from Birmal to Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, when his vehicle was struck by the drone.
In a separate drone strike in North Waziristan this morning, at least four people were killed when a vehicle was targeted. The identities of those killed were not immediately known.
Nazir, believed to be in his 30s, was based in the western part of the South Waziristan tribal region. He led the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe and his loyalists regularly joined attacks on American forces across the porous border with Afghanistan.
Unlike other Taliban factions, Nazir’s fighters did not attack Pakistani military or government targets, instead focusing on the war inside Afghanistan. He was believed to have signed a peace pact with the Pakistani military.
Nazir was allied with Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a leading warlord in North Waziristan.
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