US: Missile strike kills terror chief

Al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, US and Pakistani officials said today.

A Libyan national, al-Rahman never had the worldwide name recognition of bin Laden or bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. But al-Rahman was regarded as an instrumental figure in the terrorist organisation, trusted by bin Laden to oversee al-Qaida’s daily operations.