US claims elusive Palestinian is al-Qaida military chief

An unnamed US official has claimed that a Palestinian militant who has evaded intelligence agencies for years has become the new chief of operations in the al-Qaida network.

The anonymous official told the New York Times that 30-year-old Abu Zabaydah, who has past links with al-Qaida, is believed to be reorganising the group to carry out new attacks against the US and its allies.