U.S. drone strike in Pakistan kills al-Qaeda's No. 2

washingtonpost.com/ By Joby Warrick and Haq Nawaz Khan

An American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan early Monday killed al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, the charismatic and influential jihadist known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

After a day of uncertainty, the official said Libi was among more than a dozen people who perished in the strike, which drew strong condemnation from the Pakistan government Tuesday.

Following the strike, rumors swirled in Pakistan that the longtime deputy to Osama bin Laden had been badly wounded or perhaps killed when missiles struck a house used by Arab fighters.

Libi was one of al-Qaeda’s “most experienced and versatile leaders,” a U.S. official said in confirming the death, Reuters news agency reported. He “played a critical role in the group’s planning against the West, providing oversight of the external operations efforts.”

Libi’s death represents one of the biggest successes against al-Qaeda since bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs 13 months ago.

A Pakistani intelligence official said earlier Tuesday that there were “ some indications that [Libi] was in the house or in the neighborhood, but whether he was killed or not is still unclear.”

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said it summoned Richard E. Hoagland, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, and informed him “that the drone strikes were unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” In a statement, the Foreign Ministry added that drone strikes represent “a clear red-line for Pakistan” and noted that the country’s Parliament has declared them “unacceptable.”

Libi’s death “would be a major blow to ‘core’ al-Qaeda, removing the No. 2 leader twice in less than a year,” a senior U.S. official said Monday before the death was confirmed.  More >>