A Pakistani bomb maker has been killed in western Afghanistan. (Representative)
Kabul, Afghanistan:
A Pakistani bomb maker who trained Taliban terrorists before changing allegiance to Al Qaeda has been killed in western Afghanistan, the country’s intelligence agency said on Tuesday.
The agency said Mohammad Hanif, from Karachi, had “close ties” with the Taliban and helped train terrorists to make car bombs and improvised explosive devices.
He said he was initially a member of the Taliban, but joined Al Qaeda in 2010.
Two Pakistani women were also arrested in the operation that led to Hanif’s murder, the NDS said, without providing further details.
The Taliban made no comment.
Hanif’s murder comes just days after security agents killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, a leading Al Qaeda terrorist long wanted by the United States.
The fact that the Taliban harbored Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden was the main justification for the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Some 19 years later, in a landmark deal with Washington in February, the Taliban agreed not to allow the use of Afghan land by foreign extremists – including al-Qaeda – in exchange for the withdrawal of all their troops by United States.
Meanwhile, the Taliban and the Afghan government are currently engaged in peace talks that were launched in September, but have failed to make significant progress.
