Pakistan says senior al-Qaeda leader killed in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces have killed the al-Qaeda chief for Balochistan and south Punjab in the restive Balochistan province, the government said on Sunday. 

Omar Abdul Latif, the al-Qaeda chief for Balochistan and South Punjab, was killed in a gun battle with security forces in the Chaghi district near the Afghan border last night, provincial home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said.

Bugti said that Latif's wife had also been arrested in the raid which was carried out on a intelligence tip off. The wife of the al-Qaeda commander was identified as Tayyaba alias Freeha Baji and Latif's two children were also taken into custody for interrogation, Bugti said.

He said initial investigations showed that the al-Qaeda commander fled to Balochistan from Afghanistan eight months ago. Latif was trying to set up a al-Qaeda base camp and carry out terror attacks in the province and other parts of Pakistan, the minister said.

"He was linked to the subcontinent chapter of the al-Qaeda," he said. Al-Qaeda set up a South Asia branch last year to counter the spread of the rival Islamic State group which controls a broad swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria. In the past as well other high profile al-Qaeda leaders and militants have been arrested in Balochistan.