Al-Qaeda kingpin killed

2004-09-26 21:02

Islamabad - Pakistani security forces on Sunday killed an al-Qaeda kingpin allegedly behind an assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf and indicted in the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, a security official said.

Amjad Farooqi, Pakistan's most wanted terrorist with a $330 000 bounty on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Nawabshah in southern Sindh province.

The official said Farooqi, 30, and his accomplices put up "very strong" resistance, firing at security officials with automatic weapons from inside their hideout.

"The raid was conducted on specific information that Farooqi was hiding in the area."

Security forces ringed a house in the dusty rural town of Nawabshah, 270 km north of the port city of Karachi.

"We challenged the inmates to surrender but they opened fire at the security officials, triggering a gunbattle which lasted more than two hours," the security official said.

"I will prefer death," Farooqi shouted during the firefight, according to the official.

The security forces later stormed the house and Farooqi was found dead, while two men, two women and two children were captured alive, the official said, adding that all were Pakistani nationals.

"It's a very significant achievement in our fight against Al-Qaeda," an intelligence official said, referring to Farooqi's elimination.

President Musharraf had named Farooqi as the "Pakistani mastermind" of the December 25 assassination plot on his convoy by two suicide bombers who rammed their explosives-laden vehicles close to presidential motorcade, leaving more than a dozen people dead.

- SAPA