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            US Drone Kills Mastermind of 2014 Pakistan School Attack

   by Ayaz Gul

   The United States has confirmed that a drone strike in Afghanistan has
   killed a top Pakistani Taliban leader who was responsible for planning
   the 2014 attack on a Pakistani school, one of the country's worst
   terror attacks.

   A Pakistan military spokesman said Wednesday that the U.S. commander of
   international forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, telephoned
   his Pakistani counterpart, General Raheel Sharif and "confirmed death
   of terrorist Umar Narai through drone strike" in the eastern Afghan
   province of Nangarhar.

   Narai was wanted in Pakistan for masterminding the Taliban attack on an
   army-administered school in Peshawar in December 2014. Nearly 150
   people, mostly young students, were massacred in what was condemned as
   one of the worst militant attacks in the country's history.

   The slain Taliban commander was also blamed for plotting the September
   2015 deadly raid an Air Force base near Peshawar and the attack on a
   university not far from the city in January this year.  Around 50
   people were killed in the two attacks

   A Pakistani security official requesting anonymity told VOA Islamabad
   welcomes Narai's elimination, saying it shows that Pakistani militants
   fleeing security operations have taken refuge in Afghanistan.

   On May 21, the U.S. military reported that a drone strike killed chief
   of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Mansoor in the southwestern Pakistani
   province of Baluchistan. Both Afghan and Pakistani officials accuse
   each other of sheltering militants involved in terrorist activities on
   their respective territory.

   Authorities cite the long porous border dividing their countries for
   being unable to completely stop illegal movement on both sides.

   On Wednesday, General Sharif chaired a meeting of his top commanders to
   discuss security along the Afghan border.

   "To scrutinize cross border movement and ensure strict check on
   terrorist's movement, the forum reviewed progress of measures being
   taken for effective border management," an army statement said after
   the meeting.

   Afghan and U.S. officials have lately increased pressure on Pakistan to
   stop Taliban and their allies, including the lethal Haqqani network,
   from using Pakistani soil for plotting insurgent attacks in
   Afghanistan.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-drone-strike-kills-mastermind-of-2014-attack-on-pakistan-school/3417015.html