US confirms death of Al Qaeda leader in strike in Afghanistan
Washington - The Pentagon confirmed Friday that Al Qaeda's top leader in Afghanistan, Faruq al-Qatani, had been killed in a US strike.
The airstrike was carried out on Oct. 23 in Kunar province, located 230 kilometers (143 miles) east of Kabul and along the border with Pakistan.
"This successful strike is another example of US operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the US homeland, our interests and our allies abroad," the US department of defense said in a statement.
According to the Pentagon, Qatani was Al Qaeda's leader for northeastern Afghanistan and had been tasked with re-establishing Al Qaeda safe havens in that mountainous part of the country. However, Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, which had already announced Qatani's death a few days ago, identified him as the leader of Al Qaeda in the country.
In addition to Qatani, the US also targeted Bilal al-Utabi, another senior Al Qaeda leader and whose death is yet to be confirmed by the Pentagon. Meanwhile, the NDS has already announced the killing of Utabi, who it identified as Qatani's second-in-command.