http://english.samaylive.com/world-news/676488068/ilyas-kashmiri-killed-in-drone-attack-report.html
Islamic militant and key mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attack, Ilyas Kashmiri was killed in the latest US drone strike in South Waziristan. BBC Urdu and Pakistani media have confirmed the report, citing locals. However, no official announcement has been made so far.
According to the media reports, Ilyas Kashmiri was killed in the air strike along with nine other militants.
Kashmiri was chief of the al Qaeda associated organization Harkatul Jihad al-Islami (HJI) and was one of the most wanted militant in India.
Kashmiri was also the front-runner for the Al Qaeda chief post after killing of Osama bin Laden.
In his latest operation, he masterminded the PNS Mehran naval base in Karachi, an attack to revenge Laden's death. An official in South Waziristan told BBC Urdu services that US drone targeted a group of armed militants near Wana bazaar. On August 6, 2010 the United States labeled Kashmiri a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" while the United Nations added him and his group HuJI to its blacklist established under UN Security Council Resolution 1267.
Capture Ilyas Kashmiri and Mullah Omar by July: US to Pakistan NDTV Correspondent, Updated: June 02, 2011 08:49 IST
Washington: The United States has given Pakistan time till July to capture Al Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar. It has also warned of a military offensive in North Waziristan if they are not captured. The July deadline coincides with NATO and allied forces withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Last week, the US had handed over to Pakistan a list of five terrorists, seeking immediate intelligence information on them. It reportedly also wanted Pakistan to possibly target these terrorists in joint operations.
Besides Ilyas Kashmiri and Mullah Omar, the list included Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al Zawahiri, the operating chief of Haqqani network Sirajuddin Haqqani and the Libyan operations chief of Al Qaeda Atiya Abdel Rahman. Abdel Rahman had emerged as a key intermediary between Osama bin Laden and Qaeda's affiliate networks across the world.
The list was discussed during two meetings between Pakistani and US officials in the past two weeks, and also during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's talks with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad on Friday, ABC News quoted a US official as saying.
The US views the list as a test of whether Pakistan is "serious about fighting terrorists who have long enjoyed safe havens within its borders", the ABC report said.
An American source also confirmed the existence of the list to Dawn newspaper and said the US softening its position on unilateral action against terrorists found in Pakistan was conditional.
"The message given to Pakistani leaders was loud and clear: you either cooperate with us on these terrorists or we'll take care of them by ourselves," the source was quoted as saying by the newspaper.