Top al-Qaida Figure Killed in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A missile from a U.S. Predator drone struck a suspected terrorist safehouse in Pakistan and killed a top al-Qaida commander believed responsible for attacks on U.S. forces and the brazen bombing during a visit last year by Vice President Dick Cheney to Afghanistan, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The strike that killed Abu Laith al-Libi was conducted Monday night or early Tuesday against a facility in Pakistan's north Waziristan region, the lawless tribal area bordering Afghanistan. His death was reported by postings on two Islamist Web sites and confirmed by a U.S. official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the strike publicly.

Although a Pakistani government spokesman in Islamabad said he had no information to prove that al-Libi was dead, intelligence officials in Miran Shah, a main town in North Waziristan, said on Friday there were strong indications that he had been killed.

"Our sources among militants ... are telling us that al-Libi died in the U.S. missile attack," said a security official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to media. A second intelligence official confirmed that account.

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

It could also signal a more robust covert operation against al-Qaida figures who have sought refuge on Pakistani soil.

An estimated 12 people were killed in the strike, including Arabs, Turkmen from central Asia and local Taliban members, according to an intelligence official in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the bodies of those killed were badly mangled by the force of the explosion and it was difficult to identify them.

The Predator is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that has been armed by both Air Force and CIA with Hellfire anti-tank missiles. Even though all signs point to the CIA, agency officials would not confirm their aircraft were involved in the strike.

In the past, coalition forces in Afghanistan are believed to have launched a number of similar missile strikes against Taliban and al-Qaida militants hiding on the Pakistani side of the border, but the U.S. military has never confirmed any of them.

"We have no official information on this. Coalition forces do not conduct operations in Pakistan," Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan, said Friday.

A Pentagon spokesman said any information on the attack would have to come from the Pakistani government.

A senior U.S. official said last week that the top two U.S. intelligence officials made a secret visit to Pakistan in early January to seek permission from Musharraf for greater involvement of American forces against militants operating near the Afghanistan border, a senior U.S. official said.