US airstrike kills high profile al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan

Yasin, a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, had ties to Tehrik-e Taliban and had plotted multiple al Qaeda terror attacks, including the Sept. 20, 2008, bombing on the Marriott Hotel.

Washington, Mar 26: The Pentagon says a US counterterrorism airstrike earlier this month in Afghanistan killed an al-Qaeda leader responsible for a deadly hotel attack in Islamabad in 2008 and the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team.

In a statement last night, US defence officials confirmed the death of Qari Yasin. Officials say Yasin is a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, had ties to the group Tehrik-e Taliban and plotted multiple al-Qaeda terror attacks.

Officials say Yasin plotted the September 20, 2008, bombing on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed dozens.

The bus attack in the Pakistani city of Lahore left eight dead. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis says Yasin's death "is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice."

PTI