Hayatullah Khan

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Hayatullah Khan (1976-2006) was a Pakistani journalist who reported from Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Khan wrote extensively on Al-Qaeda, Taliban and the heavy fighting in Waziristan. His dead body was discovered in June 2006, after he was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on the December 5, 2005.^[1]^[2]

Just days earlier, the Pakistani authorities had said an al-Qaeda commander they named as Abu Hamza Rabia had been killed with four others in a blast at an alleged militant hideout in North Waziristan. The official version was that bomb-making materials had exploded by accident, but locals said the men were killed by a missile fired from an unmanned U.S. drone.

Mr Khan took photographs of what appeared to be pieces of a U.S. missile at the scene. ^[3] The pictures provoked angry protests in Pakistan at the infringement of Pakistani territory by U.S. forces.^[2] While both the authorities and local militant groups denied any involvement in his killing, allegations persisted that Pakistan intelligence agencies were involved.

On November 17th, 2007, Hayatullah's widow was murdered by a bomb that was detonated outside her home. Preliminary evidence indicates she was the target of the attack.^[4]