Al Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan has been killed in a CIA drone strike, two US officials said.
The officials identified the target of the drone attack as Abu Hafs al Shahri, a Saudi national who had been serving as the senior figure in al Qaeda's central command in charge of dealing with operations inside of Pakistan.
The drone strike occurred in Pakistan's tribal areas within the last few days, the officials said on Thursday, but they declined to provide more precise details.
As al Qaeda's Pakistan operations chief, one of the officials said, al Shahri's responsibilities included coordinating the activities of al Qaeda's depleted central leadership with Pakistan's principal network of Taliban fighters, known as the TTP.
"This is another blow at the core of al Qaeda in Pakistan," a US official said. "The loss of their chief of operations in Pakistan, an individual who played a key operational and administrative role for the group, will pose a challenge for (Ayman) Zawahiri."
Sumber: Aljazeera.net, 16/9/2011
