Suspect in consulate attack dies in strike

A militant wanted in connection with an attack on a U.S. consulate in Pakistan four years ago was killed in a missile strike in the country's tribal region, a Pakistani intelligence official said Thursday. Qari Mohammad Zafar was among 13 people killed Wednesday in the Dargah Mandi area of North Waziristan. Authorities had wanted Zafar for questioning in connection with the March 2, 2006, bombing near the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan,

The attack killed three Pakistanis and U.S. diplomat David Foy. Zafar was suspected of being a key figure involved with this attack. The United States put a $5 million reward on his head. Zafar was pro-Taliban and a member of Lashkar-e Jangvi, a banned Pakistan-based radical Sunni militant group. The group started out going after Shiites in sectarian turf and then is believed to have linked up with al Qaeda.

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Update 1: Suspect in Washington Cop Killings Was Out on Street Despite Lengthy Rap Sheet, Sentences

As the suspect in the ambush execution of four police officers remains on the run, questions are swirling as to how and why Maurice Clemmons — an ex-con who at one time faced more than 100 years behind bars — was allowed to live free.

Clemmons, 37, of Tacoma, Wash., has an extensive, violent criminal history marked by volatile and unstable behavior, according to court records and news reports. His criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington, according to the Seattle Times. He had a lengthy prison sentence commuted in 2000 by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who cited Clemmons' youth.

"Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State," Huckabee said in a statement issued Sunday. The former governor, who ran for president in 2008 and has been a leading contender in polls for the 2012 Republican nomination, currently hosts a show on Fox News Channel.

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