Islamabad: Pakistani Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah is top on a list of potential targets for US drones, according to official sources.
The Washington Post quoted a senior US Special Operations official, as saying that Fazlullah is a priority and that they have assets focused on killing him, reports The Dawn. Earlier this month, the US media reported that the Obama administration was preparing new guidelines for attacking suspected terrorists but would continue to give the CIA a free hand in targeting terrorists inside Fata.
The report irked Pakistan, which has repeatedly asked the US administration to reconsider its policy of using drones for attacking terrorists in its tribal region. US drone strikes have killed dozens of Pakistani Taliban, including leader Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone strike on Aug 23, 2009.
The paper stated that Fazlullah was little known outside Pakistan until this past October, when a gunman associated with him tried to kill 15-year-old education campaigner Malala Yousufzai for demanding equal education opportunities for girls. Malala survived the assassination attempt and is now recuperating with her family in Britain.
(ANI)
First Published: Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 17:33