WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): US forces carried out precision strikes in eastern Kunar Province this week, targeting Al-Qaeda's most senior leaders in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said: “We are still assessing the results of the strikes, but their demise would represent a significant blow to the terrorist group's presence in Afghanistan.”
The Al-Qaeda leaders were identified as Faruq al-Qatani and Bilal al-Utabi. Al-Qatani served as Al-Qaeda's emir for northeastern Afghanistan, assigned by the group's leadership to re-establish safe havens there.
He was a senior planner of attacks against the United States, with a long history of directing deadly attacks against American troops and coalition allies, Cook said.
Likewise, al-Utabi is assessed to have been involved in efforts to re-establish a safe haven in Afghanistan from which to threaten the West, and in efforts to recruit and train foreign fighters.
Cook said after an extensive period of surveillance, the US targeted al-Qatani and al-Utabi at what was believed to be command-and-control locations in remote areas of Kunar.
“If these strikes are determined to be successful, eliminating these core leaders of al-Qaeda will disrupt efforts to plot against the United States and our allies and partners around the world, reduce the threat to our Afghan partners, and assist their efforts to deny al-Qaeda safe haven in Afghanistan,” Cook said.
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