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Qari Mohammad Zafar
Up to $5 Million Reward
Qari Mohammad Zafar is wanted for questioning in connection with the March 2, 2006 bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
The attack killed three Pakistani citizens and David Foy, a U.S. diplomat. Zafar is suspected of being a key figure involved with this attack.
Al Qaeda-linked suspects emerge in Islamabad Marriott attacks
Two senior al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Pakistani terrorists are suspected of being behind the Sept. 20 (2008) bombing at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The deadly attack killed more than 50 Pakistanis and foreigners and wounded more than 270, and destroyed the once-popular hotel.
In recent press reports, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, the leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and Qari Mohammad Zafar, a leader of the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, have both been implicated as being the mastermind of the Marriott bombing. Both men have extensive ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban, and have been in Pakistani custody until recently.
(CBS/AP) Febr. 24, 2010 – A Taliban commander wanted in the deadly 2006 bombing of the U.S. consulate in Karachi was killed in a suspected CIA missile strike in northwest Pakistan, officials said — the latest blow in a crackdown on militants in the region.
Mohammed Qari Zafar was among at least 13 people killed when three missiles slammed into a compound and a vehicle in the Dargah Mandi area of the North Waziristan tribal region on the border with Afghanistan, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
It was the latest strike in an intensified U.S. campaign to take out Taliban and al Qaeda leaders believed to be sheltering in the lawless border region with missiles fired from unmanned drone aircraft. At the same time, Pakistani intelligence forces have cracked down on Afghan Taliban in the country, arresting more than a dozen top leaders in the past few weeks.
Capturing is far more effective than killing which creates more martyrs. It can also have unexpected effects in changing the chain of command.
There was an interesting piece of analysis (unfortunately no link) in A-Times based on comments by a major go-between between Afghan government and Taliban a few months ago which looked at who in the Taliban could be worked with and brought into the peace process. Traditonally the US approach is to not go to the big names but to try and bring on board underlings. The problem with this approach is apparently the moderates in the Taliban are the older and more senior commanders including of course Mullah Omar whjile the underlings and younger members tend to be a lot more extreme. It seemsm talk to the wrong people, kill and incarcerate the moderate wing is the plan. Either totally stupid or designed to now work. Take your pick.
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Taliban fighters opened fire, hurled grenades and staged suicide bombings in central Kabul, killing 16 people in a show of defiance against the Western-backed government and a NATO offensive to wipe them out.
Among the dead were eight Afghans, including three police officers, four Indian nationals and an Italian, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.
The French Foreign Ministry said one French national had been killed in the assault. Séverin Blanchet, a French filmmaker was killed in blast.
Some 38 people were wounded in the two-hour assault which started after at least one suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a guest house frequented by Indians.
The blast triggered car alarms and sent plumes of thick smoke into the damp and cold morning air at the start of the Afghan weekend.
“I was inside my room when I heard a loud explosion and then I could not see if people were killed or wounded because I locked my door,” said an Indian who gave his name as Kashif, who was staying in the guest house.
Afghan security forces wearing bullet-proof vests rushed to secure the area, which is home to Kabul’s biggest shopping centre, exchanging fire with the militants.
Others carried out wounded Indians on their backs or stretchers.
A photo taken outside the Park Residence guesthouse at the site of agun battle in the Shar-e Naw area in the heart of the capital Kabul. (AFP)
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."