Nasiruddin Haqqani, a top Taliban commander and leader of the feared Haqqani Network, was gunned down on Sunday night by unknown assailants in Barakahu, a suburban locality of Islamabad, security and Taliban sources have confirmed.
"Nasiruddin was killed by unknown assailants in the Barakahu area on Sunday night," an Interior Ministry official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
"No more details of the incident are available for the moment," he added. "The police are investigating the incident."
Nasiruddin is the younger half-brother of Sirajuddin, current chief of the Haqqani Network.
He was believed to have been operating as a Taliban spokesman with the codename "Qari Zabihullah."
His death was confirmed by Taliban sources in North Waziristan.
"We hardly saw Nasiruddin in North Waziristan," said one Taliban source. "It's Sirajuddin Haqqani who has been a frequent visitor."
The Haqqani Network is currently fighting US-led NATO and Afghan government forces. It is widely seen as the most formidable component of the Taliban movement.
Officially, Islamabad police say they have no information regarding the killing of Nasiruddin, who had also been considered a key Taliban financer.
"What I can confirm is a firing incident that has been reported by Barakahu police station," a senior Islamabad police official told AA on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
"We do not have further information in this connection," he added. "Investigations are underway."
Sagheer Khan, a local resident and eyewitness, said that a black jeep had stopped near a bakery in Barakahu and a tall, bearded man had got out and strode toward the shop.
"As soon as he reached the counter [of the shop], all of a sudden two motor bikers appeared from the nearby street," Khan told AA.
"The man sitting behind the [motorbike] driver opened fire on the tall man," he added. "He kept pumping bullets into his body for a few seconds and left him laying a pool of blood."
Another eyewitness, Ghulam Hussein, said he had been sitting outside his home when he heard the gunshots.
"I didn't see the man firing, but I saw three men who came out of the jeep, pick up the injured [man], put him in the jeep and speed away," he told AA.
-Burial
Taliban sources have confirmed that Nasiruddin's body was brought to Ghulam Khan, a remote town of North Waziristan bordering the Afghan province of Khost – the Haqqani's home province.
They said that funeral prayers for Nasiruddin would be held later Monday.
The sources said it was not immediately clear whether the slain commander would be buried in North Waziristan or Khost.
Government and army officials, for their part, remain tight-lipped over Nasiruddin's mysterious killing and what he had been doing in Islamabad – right under the nose of government agencies.
One intelligence official accused Afghan intelligence agencies of killing Nasiruddin with the aim of derailing an unofficial ceasefire between the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group – mentor to the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan – and the Pakistan army.
He denied reports that Nasiruddin had been in the custody of Pakistani security agencies since December 2010.
"I don't know what he was doing here, but one thing is clear: he was not in our custody," said the intelligence official.
"Let's suppose he had been in custody. Then why would we kill him?" the official asked. "Especially when people believe we have good relations with the Haqqani Network."
By Aamir Latif
