Drone attack killed al-Qaeda’s second in command, says US

Al-Qaeda’s second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, was among 15 militants killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan, US officials have said.

Al-libi is believed to have functioned as a “gatekeeper” between al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and operatives in the field,.

Experts said his death would be seen as the biggest blow to al-Qaeda since American special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in Pakistan in May last year.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the intelligence community had information which led them to conclude al-Libi had been killed.

“We have confirmation of his death,” insisted Mr Carney, adding: “There is now no clear successor to take on the breadth of his responsibilities.”

However, there has been no confirmation of his death from sources in Pakistan.

US officials revealed yesterday they had targeted al-Libi in Monday’s strike in Khassu Khel village in the North Waziristan tribal area.

It is believed US intelligence officers are hoping Pakistani intelligence sources who know al-Libi will be able to view his body in the wreckage of the house where he was seen before the strike, or at his funeral, to confirm he was hit.

More than a dozen senior commanders have been removed in the clandestine war against al-Qaeda since US Navy Seals killed Bin Laden just over a year ago.

Al-Libi, a hero in militant circles for his 2005 escape from a US military prison in Afghanistan, was elevated to al-Qaeda’s No 2 spot when Ayman al-Zawahri rose to replace Bin Laden. Militants and residents in the area told Pakistani agents al-Libi was in the house when it was hit, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Agents intercepted a militant phone call indicating an Arab died in the attack, but it is unclear if they were talking about Libyan-born al-Libi.

The officials said they were 80 per cent certain al-Libi died on Monday, but that they were still trying to get confirmation.

But a local Taleban chief said al-Libi was not present at the house, though his guard and driver were killed in the attack.

Washington has carried out a flurry of drone strikes recently – seven in less than two weeks – some of which appear to have been trying to target al-Libi.

The al-Qaeda deputy appeared to have been injured in one of those strikes, although there were conflicting accounts as to which and there was little information about the extent of his wounds. Pakistani intelligence officials said al-Libi had been slightly injured in a 28 May attack in a village near Khassu Khel, where he then moved.

The White House maintains a list of terrorist targets to be killed or captured, compiled by the military and the CIA and approved by the president.

The stepping up of drone strikes since late May follows a relative lull driven by tensions between Washington and Islamabad over US airstrikes last year that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan seized the opportunity to renegotiate its relationship with the US and demanded Washington stop drone strikes in the country – a demand the US has ignored. The attacks are unpopular in Pakistan because many people believe they mostly kill civilians, an allegation disputed by the Americans.

As al-Qaeda’s de facto general manager, al-Libi is responsible for running its operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas and deals with al-Qaeda’s regional affiliates. Al-Libi, an Islamic scholar, was captured in 2002 and held by US forces at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan until he escaped in 2005. Almost immediately after reuniting with his Taleban and al-Qaeda brethren he began appearing in videos released by the terror group.