Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...
(TTP) and the organizer of the group's suicide bombing squads. He was a cousin of
Hakimullah Mehsud
Hakimullah Mehsud (Pashto language, Pashto/ ur, حکیم اللہ محسود; − 1 November 2013), born Jamshed Mehsud () and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud (), was a Pakistani militant who was the second emir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He w ...
.
Education
Hussain studied at the
Jamia Farooqia
Jamia Farooqia is an Islamic seminary in Pakistan, having two branches, one located in the Shah Faisal Colony in Karachi, and the other in Hub Chowki.
Established in 1967 by Saleemullah Khan, an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband, the seminary ...
seminary for four years.
Operations
Hussain ran a training camp for suicide bombers in
South Waziristan
South Waziristan District ( ps, سويلي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) was a district in Dera Ismail Khan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before splitting in to Lower South Waziristan District and Upper South Waziristan District and t ...
and had been active in violent acts against the Pakistani government. In May 2007 he directed a campaign of attacks in the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, nation = Pakistan
, subdivision = Autonomous territory
, image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg
, image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...
. The attacks included targeted killings of tribal elders and political agents, and attacks on police which resulted in many civilian deaths.
The violent nature of the attacks almost led to a split with
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud (Pashto/ ur, ; – 5 August 2009) was one of founder and a leading member of TTP in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups ...
, who at the time was
amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of the TTP. On 1 June 2007, Mehsud captured 17 of Hussain's men and threatened to kill them in retaliation for a particularly brutal attack upon the residence of Pir Amiruddin Shah, the Political Agent of
Khyber Agency
Khyber District ( ps, خېبر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; with the merger of FATA with Khyber Pak ...
, which killed guests and family members and had been undertaken without Mehsud's consent. However, Hussain was still a commander of Taliban forces.
Hussain was reported dead after his home was destroyed in January 2008, but in May 2008 appeared in front of Pakistani media to deny the reports.Roggio, Bill (2008-05-25). Taliban commander Qari Hussain survived military operation in Waziristan . ''The Long War Journal''. He was later reported killed in a 23 June 2009 airstrike at
Makeen
Makeen ( ps, مکین) or Makin () is a city in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the boundary with North Waziristan. The boundary with Afghanistan's Barmal District, Paktika lies to the west. Makeen lies within the heartland of ...
in South Waziristan, but then phoned reporters to prove he was alive. A few days after the airstrike, the Pakistan government announced a 10 million rupee reward for the killing or capture of Hussain, among other Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan commanders. On 2 November 2009 the reward was increased to 50 million rupees ($600,000)
A report by the
Press Trust of India
The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...
cited sources affirming that Hussain was killed on 14 January 2010, in the American drone airstrike in North Waziristan that reportedly killed Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud; however, Hussain apparently spoke with local media by telephone to deny Mehsud's death. ''
The News International
''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...
'' later reported that "top Pakistani and US sources" confirmed Hussain's death in the same drone strike against Mehsud. However, he once again appeared in an interview, speaking with
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
in March 2010, and again denying Mehsud's death.
Hussain claimed responsibility for the
2010 Times Square car bomb attempt
On May 1, 2010, a terrorist attack was attempted in Times Square in Manhattan, New York. Two street vendors alerted NYPD after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle, and a car bomb was discovered. The bomb had been ignited, but failed to expl ...
in an audiotape that was posted on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel on the website
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Authorities in Pakistan believe that
Faisal Shahzad
Faisal Shahzad ( ur, ; born , 1979) is a Pakistani-American citizen who was arrested for the attempted May 1, 2010, Times Square car bombing. On , 2010, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, he confessed to 10 counts arising from the bo ...
, the Pakistani-American who admitted to planting the Times Square car bomb, was introduced to Hussain via Mohammad Rehan, and subsequently received explosives training before he returned to the United States.
On 15 October 2010, several reports came out indicating that Qari Hussain was killed in an American drone strike. ''
Geo TV
Geo Television Network is a television channel based in Pakistan. It was established in May 2002 and is owned by the Jang Media Group. The channel began its test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning on 1 October 2 ...
'' said that he and five Turks were killed on 2 October in the Dattakhel area. The ''Press Trust of India'' stated that he and three others were killed on 7 October outside of Miranshah in Jungle Khel. While Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq denied these reports were true, Qari Hussein never contacted media to confirm his survival. On 26 October, a senior Taliban operative as well as a counter terrorism expert contacted the ''Asia Times'' confirming that Hussain was killed on 7 October in the sub-district of Khushali in Mirali.
The TTP officially confirmed Hussain's death in December 2013.