AL-QAIDA has confirmed the death of a senior commander known as a top explosives and poisons expert, who is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan last week.

Al-Qaida posted a statement on the internet today saying four of its Afghanistan commanders have been killed, including an explosives expert wanted by the US.

An al-Qaida explosives and chemical weapons expert and a relative of the terror network’s number-two leader were among three top operatives believed killed in a US missile strike in Pakistan last week, Pakistani security officials said today.