Al-Qaida under pressure as its No 2 leader killed in drone strike

THE killing of al-Qaida’s number two leader deprives the group of a multi-talented manager who helped it spawn offshoots around the world and survive a US counter-terrorism campaign in Pakistan, analysts say.

US officials said Atiyah abd al-Rahman, a Libyan, was killed in Pakistan in a strike by an unmanned drone on August 22.

The killing will be particularly highly prized by Washington as US strategists would have been concerned about Rahman’s potential influence in Libya’s turmoil following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.