An airstrike by the United States has killed an al Qaeda militant who was responsible for the deadly attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s cricketers in Pakistan in 2009, the Pentagon said on Saturday. Qari Yasin was killed in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on March 19, a statement said.

“The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice,” said US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis. Yasin was accused of carrying out an explosion in a hotel in Islamabad in 2008 as well. Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department had announced a Rs 20-lakh bounty for leads about Yasin, reported Reuters.

The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus left eight Pakistans dead and six players and their British coach injured. The attack near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was carried out by at least 10 gunmen, who opened fired on the bus, launched rockets and hurled grenades. After the incident, Pakistan was barred from hosting international tours.