Airstrike kills key Taliban leader

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A U.S. military strike on New Year's Eve on targets in North Waziristan in Pakistan killed a key leader of the Taliban, an intelligence forum claims.

Family members of Haji Omar Khan claimed the Taliban leader was killed by a U.S. military strike on targets in North Waziristan, the online Long War Journal reports. The Taliban commander reportedly fled South Waziristan to the north following an October offensive launched by the Pakistani military against targets in the volatile tribal belts along the Afghan border.

The leader had strong ties to top Taliban commanders, including slain leader Baitullah Mehsud and the reclusive Mullah Omar. A former Afghan mujahedin fighting the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, he was also linked to the Haqqani network, which U.S. officials targeted in December raids in the Afghan province of Khost.

The Journal said U.S. intelligence officials were ambiguous about the claims made by the family members, though they acknowledged he was a target.

The U.S. military and intelligence communities frequently target al-Qaida and Taliban leadership inside Pakistani territory. Mehsud, the late Taliban leader, was killed in an August airstrike by U.S. forces.