Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 17, 2009

Head of Banned Pakistani Militant Group Shot Dead
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=260AB7E:A6F02AD83191E16081A33CFE5F66001EF47489ACC27D21EE&
 
Officials say gunmen killed Ali Sher Haideri and one of his companions
as they were driving in Sindh province, northeast of Karachi 
Pakistani police say the leader of a banned Sunni Muslim militant group
was shot dead Monday during an attack in the south. A Pakistani
paramilitary soldier stands guard at a tense area after the killing of
an Islamic religious leader Ali Sher Haideri, in Karachi, 17 Aug
2009Officials say gunmen killed Ali Sher Haideri and one of his
companions as they were driving in Sindh province, northeast of Karachi.
One of the attackers was also killed when Haideri's guards returned
fire. Police said the killing appeared to be related to a personal
dispute - not sectarian violence. Haideri led Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni
extremist group blamed for attacks against Pakistan's minority Shi'ites.
The group was banned in 2002.In a separate incident Monday, a truck bomb
exploded at a fuel station in the northwest, killing at least six
people. The blast hit the town of Charsada, near Peshawar. Officials say
two women and at least two children were among the dead. Pakistan banned
Sipah-e-Sahaba in 2!
 002 after joining the U.S.-led fight against terrorism following the
September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The U.S. State
Department has labeled the group a terrorist organization.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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