Pakistan minister confirms Ilyas Kashmiri's death

Islamabad, Jun 5: A Pakistani minister confirmed the death of senior al-Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri, a key suspect behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

According to media reports, Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday, Jun 5 that he was "98 percent sure" about the death of Ilyas Kashmiri.

"All ground intelligence shows that he is dead. What I can say is there is a 98 percent chance he is dead," said Rehman Malik.

"Since we do not have the body. We do not have DNA we need to confirm. This is the substantive evidence we are looking for." he added.

47-year-old Kashmiri, a former Pakistani army commando, on whose head the US had put a price of USD five million, was killed when a predator drone fired four missiles Friday night at a compound in Ghwakhwa area of South Waziristan.

While the Pakistan minister confirmed the death of Kashmiri, the neighbouring country India, which faced death blow on Mumbai under Kashmiri's plans, has no confirmation about his death. Government officials said that they are contacting friendly countries asking about the authenticity of the reports.

Earlier, terror outfit HuJi confirmed the death news of Kashmiri. Kashmiri, who was a member of the Pakistani military, was one of the most-wanted terrorists listed by US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

OneIndia News