Qaeda no 2 killed in Pakistan?

Washington, Jun 5:

's second in command Abu Yahya al-Libi was the main target of the US drone strike that killed 15 militants in Pakistan's lawless Northwest yesterday and US officials said they were "optimistic" the al-Libi had not survived.

"People are looking very closely to see whether he is still alive," the officials were quoted by New York Times as saying. The Times said a senior Pakistani security source in Peshawar had said, "It looks like he has been killed." The paper said tribal sources in Mir Ali, where the drone attack occurred, said the Libyan ideologue was either killed or seriously wounded in the strike, which Pakistani officials said killed at least 15 people.

US officials said that Libi, on whose head Washington had put a bounty of USD 1 billion, had been the target of the missile attack in North Waziristan, the third drone strike in as many days and the deadliest this year. "If his killing is confirmed, it could be a major blow to the core of Al-Qaeda - removing the organisation's number two leader twice in less than a year," they said.

PTI