Qari Yasin was killed in a US drone strike in Barmal District of Paktika Province in Afghanistan. Three of his accomplices were also reportedly killed in the strike.

"The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice," US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement.

Yasin was accused of plotting the 2008 bombing on a Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed dozens of people, including two US service members.

Yasin was affiliated with several terrorist organizations and had assisted militant outfits Jundallah and Al-Qaeda in several attacks.

Yasin - a native of the Pakistani region of Balochistan who had ties to the Tehrik-e-Taliban group - was wanted by the Federal Investigation Agency for attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, GHQ Rawalpindi, ISI Lahore Office, Marriott Hotel and a bomb blast at Data Darbar Lahore, among other terrorist attacks.

Yasin was also believed to be behind attacks on Pakistan Army colonel and Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada and former President Pervez Musharraf.

jbh/gsw (AFP, INP)