Al-Qaida number two 'not at site of air strike'

Two senior Pakistani officials said today that al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri was not at the site of the US air strike near the Afghan border.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that Pakistan’s own investigation concluded that al-Zawahri was not in Damadola village where 17 people were killed in the strike early Friday.

“Their information was wrong, and our investigations conclude that they acted on a false information,” said a senior intelligence official who has direct knowledge of the investigations launched by Pakistan to look into the attacks.

Separately, a senior government official said al-Zawahri was not present at the homes which were attacked.

“He was not there, and this is what we know after a detailed probe” into the incident, he said.

Pakistan’s government was expected to formally issue its reaction on the attack later today.