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| Tuesday, 28 September 2004 |
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Pakistan claims "crushing blow" to Al-Qaeda with militant's killing ISLAMABAD, Monday (AFP) Security forces say they have inflicted a "crushing blow" on the Al-Qaeda network in Pakistan by killing one of the most wanted militants involved in a failed bid to kill President Pervez Musharraf. Amjad Farooqi, 30, killed during a two-hour shootout in southern Sindh province on Sunday, had been running Al-Qaeda operations in Pakistan, they said. "He was the right-hand man of Libyan Abu Faraj Farj," the new operational chief of Al-Qaeda, a senior security official told AFP. Farooqi was also wanted over the murder of US Wall Street reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. President Musharraf, who is visiting the Netherlands, was immediately informed of Farooqi's death. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid, who is with Musharraf, told AFP by telephone from Amsterdam that Farooqi was killed in a bloody shootout with security forces in the town of Nawabshah. "We have arrested three of his accomplices, they are all very important, wanted terrorists," the minister said, promising to disclose details in a few days. "It is yet another success of Pakistani intelligence fighting against terrorism." Farooqi carried a 20 million rupee (330,000 dollars) bounty on his head. Armed with automatic weapons, he and his accomplices put up "very strong" resistance when their hideout was surrounded. "We challenged the inmates to surrender but they opened fire at the security officials, triggering a gunbattle which lasted more than two hours," a security official said on condition of anonymity. "I will prefer death," the defiant militant shouted during the firefight, according to the official. When security forces entered the house they found him dead. "Farooqi's elimination is a crushing blow to the Al-Qaeda network in Pakistan because he was the man who had been providing Al-Qaeda terrorists the manpower for carrying out attacks in the country," the official told AFP. |
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