Pakistani army kills a senior al-Qaeda leader wanted by the US
Adnan El Shukrijuma wanted by US over plot to attack New York subways
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 07 December, 2014, 5:24am
UPDATED : Sunday, 07 December, 2014, 5:24am
Agence France-Presse in Islamabad
Adnan El Shukrijumah
One of the FBI's most-wanted men - a senior al-Qaeda leader wanted over a 2009 plot to attack the New York subway - has been killed, Pakistan's military said yesterday.
"In an intelligence-borne operation top al-Qaeda leader Adnan El Shukrijumah was killed by Pakistan army in an early morning raid in Shinwarsak, South Waziristan today," the military said.
Shukrijumah was hiding in a compound in Shinwarsak, northwestern Pakistan, after fleeing from neighbouring North Waziristan tribal district where the army launched a major operation against militant bases in June, the military said.
"His accomplice and local facilitator were also killed in the raid," it added.
Saudi-born Shukrijumah is described by the FBI as "one of the leaders of al-Qaeda's external operations programme". He was wanted in connection with the New York subway plot, as well as for planned operations connected to targets in the United Kingdom. The FBI has a US$5 million reward available for information leading to his arrest.
Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said in a tweet that five "terrorists" were also arrested during the raid.
"The intelligence had been working on the whereabouts and movements of Shukrijumah for about five to six years," a senior Pakistani security official said.
Local intelligence official and residents said authorities had sealed all entry points to South Waziristan and shut down phone networks before the raid.
The operation started late on Friday and residents in Wana, a main town in South Waziristan, some 15km east of Shinwarsak, heard gun fire and the movement of helicopters. Four drones were also sighted.
The semi-autonomous tribal areas that border Afghanistan have for years been a hideout for Islamist militants of all stripes. .
The Pakistani military launched a major offensive in North Waziristan in June and said they had killed more than 1,100 militants so far.
