Al-Qaeda's third-in-command is believed to have been killed earlier this month in a US missile strike in the tribal areas of Pakistan, officials said today.
"In terms of counterterrorism, this would be a big victory," a US official said of the death of Sheikh Sa'id al-Masri, also known as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid. Al-Masri was widely seen as al-Qaeda's third-ranked figure and its main conduit to leader Osama bin Laden.
As al-Qaeda's chief operating officer, he had a hand in everything from finances to operational planning, the official said. "We have strong reason to believe . . . that al-Masri was killed recently in Pakistan's tribal areas," the US official said.
Earlier yesterday, al-Qaeda announced al-Masri's death in an internet posting, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.
In addition to al-Masri, the announcement said that his wife, three of his daughters, his granddaughter and other men, women and children were killed.
SITE said al-Masri, an Egyptian, served as the general head of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and that his last known public statement, dated May 4th, eulogised the deaths of top militants in Iraq.
The US official said al-Masri is believed to have been killed earlier in May but did not provide a specific date. The CIA has stepped up the pace of unmanned drone strikes in the tribal zone bordering Afghanistan.
CIA director Leon Panetta has asserted that attacks against al-Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal regions appear to have driven bin Laden and other leaders deeper into hiding, leaving the organisation incapable of planning sophisticated operations.
But the White House warned last week of a dangerous "new phase" in the terrorism threat, citing the failed Christmas Day bombing of a US airliner and the botched Times Square car bomb attempt earlier this month.
In March, US officials said a drone strike in Pakistan killed a key al-Qaeda planner, Hussein al-Yemeni.
US officials say the pilotless drones are one of the most effective weapons against militants, but they have stoked resentment in Pakistan, where anti-American feeling runs high.
Reuters