Taliban commander's brother killed by US missile

The brother of a senior Afghan Taliban commander has been killed in a US missile strike in north west Pakistan, officials said today.

Mohammed Haqqani and three other close associates of Taliban leader Siraj Haqqani were killed when missiles struck a house in the Dande Darpa Khel area of North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan.

The attack was apparently aimed at Siraj Haqqani, a top Taliban commander with suspected close ties to al-Qaida.

Officials initially said Siraj Haqqani’s son was killed in the strike, but said later it was his brother.