ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A Pakistani Taliban faction on Wednesday confirmed the killing of a top commander, who was wanted for organizing attacks including the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team and the army's headquarters.
Qari Yaseen, one of the senior commanders of the banned sectarian group "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi" (LeJ) , was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province on Sunday, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat ul Ahrar (TTP JA) group said.
Asad Mansoor, spokesman for the TTP JA, said in a statement sent to the local media, confirmed Yaseen was the mastermind of the attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009 and General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistani army in Rawalpindi.
The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team claimed the lives of seven police officials and injured seven players.
Nine soldiers had lost lives when the gunmen in military uniform opened fire on the GHQ in October 2009. Nine attackers and two civilians were also killed in clashes.
The TTP JA spokesman said Yaseen organized most of the attacks in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Yaseen was the second senior LeJ leader to be killed in Afghanistan in six months.
Security officials in Pakistan insisted that like many others, senior LeJ commanders have reportedly crossed into Afghanistan following military operations in the tribal regions of the country.
