US official set up private spy network in Pakistan: NYT

The US has organized a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to eliminate the militants, The New York Times reported on Monday. A US official identified as Michael Furlong would supervise the network.Citing unnamed military officials and businessmen in Afghanistan and the US, the newspaper said Furlong, who works for the Defence Department, hired contractors from private security companies that employed former CIA and Special Forces members.These people gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of suspected militants and the location of insurgent camps, after that, the information was sent to military units and intelligence officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan to chalk out possible strikes.