US drone 'killed al-Qaida commander'

A missile from a US Predator drone struck a suspected terrorist safehouse in Pakistan and killed a top al-Qaida commander believed responsible for a bomb attack during a visit last year by Vice President Dick Cheney to Afghanistan, a US official said yesterday.

The strike that killed Abu Laith al-Libi was conducted on Monday night or early Tuesday against a facility in Pakistan's north Waziristan region, the lawless tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

The killing of such a major al-Qaida figure is likely to embarrass Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who has repeatedly said he would not sanction US military action against al-Qaida members believed to be regrouping in the wild borderlands near Afghanistan.

An estimated 12 people were killed in the strike, including Arabs, Turkmen from central Asia and local Taliban members.

The Predator is an unmanned aircraft developed for reconnaissance for the Air Force and later outfitted with Hellfire anti-tank missiles.

The CIA first used the remotely piloted craft as a strike plane in November 2002 against six alleged al-Qaida members travelling in a vehicle in Yemen.

In January 2006, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's second-in-command, was the target of a missiles allegedly fired from a CIA Predator drone near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

The terror leader was not at the site, but officials said four key al-Qaida operatives were killed.

The US says al-Libi, whose name means "the Libyan" in Arabic, was likely behind the February 2007 bombing at the US base at Bagram in Afghanistan during a visit by Mr Cheney.

The attack killed 23 people but Mr Cheney was deep inside the sprawling base and was not hurt.

Terrorism experts said al-Libi's death was a significant setback for al-Qaida because of his extensive ties to the Taliban, but they said the terror network would likely regroup and replace him.

"Al-Libi has been waging jihad for more than 10 years and it will be a blow to both al-Qaida and the Taliban, but not in a way that will lead to the downfall of those organisations," said Eric Rosenbach, terror expert and executive director of the Centre for International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School.

A website that frequently carries announcements from militant groups said al-Libi had been "martyred with a group of his brothers in the land of Muslim Pakistan" but gave no further details.

Residents near the Pakistani town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan said they could hear US Predator drones flying in the area shortly before the explosion, which destroyed the compound.

Pakistan's Interior Ministry spokesman, Javed Iqbal Cheema, insisted authorities had "no information" indicating al-Libi was dead.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he did not "have anything definitive" to say on reports of al-Libi's death.

The Libyan-born al-Libi was among the most high-profile figures in al-Qaida after its leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy al-Zawahiri.

Al-Libi also led an al-Qaida training camp and appeared in a number of al-Qaida internet videos.

In spring 2007, al-Qaida's media wing, Al-Sahab, released a video interview with a bearded man identified as al-Libi.

"Al-Libi's death is a significant blow to al-Qaida the organisation because he is one of the few people left in the organisation who has a historical track record," said Farhana Ali, terror expert at the RAND corporation.

But, she added: "al-Qaida's strength is that it knows how to secure membership and recruitment, and because the movement will continue, al-Libi will be replaced".

A Pakistani intelligence official said that al-Libi was based near Mir Ali until late 2003 when he moved back into Afghanistan to take charge of al-Qaida operations on both sides of the border area.

Mr Rosenbach said militants who rise to number three al-Qaida positions, like al-Libi, are often in charge of planning operations, exposing them to capture or death.

"It has to be one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. They generally don't last longer than a year - mostly because the al-Qaida chief of operations has a large 'signature' resulting from planning operations," he said.

"Our intelligence has done an excellent job in tracking them down."