U.S. missiles killed more than a dozen people in northwestern Pakistan early Monday in a strike that apparently was aimed at al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, the charismatic and influential jihadist known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.
The terrorist commander’s fate remained unclear Tuesday, amid a swirl of rumors inside Pakistan that the longtime deputy to Osama bin Laden had been badly wounded or perhaps killed in the strike on a house used by Arab fighters. Libi’s death, if confirmed, would represent one of the biggest successes against al-Qaeda since bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs 13 months ago.
“We have some indications that [Libi] was in the house or in the neighborhood, but whether he was killed or not is still unclear,” a Pakistani intelligence official in the region said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
The strike drew a strong public protest Tuesday from the Pakistani government, which called the attack illegal.
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,” said a senior U.S. official with access to classified reports from Pakistan, where officials from both countries were working to ascertain Libi’s fate.
The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism operations, said Libi had been serving as “general manager” for al-Qaeda’s main branch, overseeing the terrorist group’s day-to-day operations in Pakistan as well as its links to affiliates around the world.
U.S. and Pakistani officials confirmed that missiles struck a house in North Waziristan, a tribal province on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, around sunrise Monday, and that multiple deaths were reported. A security official from the area said in a phone interview that numerous “foreigners” were described as being among the victims. The term is generally used by local residents to refer to al-Qaeda fighters.
While it remained unclear whether Libi or “other high-value targets” were among the dead, the official said, there were a “large number” of victims, including men thought to be of Arab or Central Asian descent.
A local tribal source reached by telephone also described large numbers of bodies but said civilians were being kept away from the destroyed house.
“Initially, four people were killed, but when the militants reached the spot, another strike occurred that killed many more, raising the death toll to 16,” the source said.
Area residents said the house in the remote village of Khasso Khel was demolished in the strike. The house had 15 to 20 rooms and belonged to a “local facilitator of Arab fighters, to provide them accommodation,” one tribal source said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from militants.
The terrorist commander’s fate remained unclear Tuesday, amid a swirl of rumors inside Pakistan that the longtime deputy to Osama bin Laden had been badly wounded or perhaps killed in the strike on a house used by Arab fighters. Libi’s death, if confirmed, would represent one of the biggest successes against al-Qaeda since bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs 13 months ago.
“We have some indications that [Libi] was in the house or in the neighborhood, but whether he was killed or not is still unclear,” a Pakistani intelligence official in the region said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
The strike drew a strong public protest Tuesday from the Pakistani government, which called the attack illegal.
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,” said a senior U.S. official with access to classified reports from Pakistan, where officials from both countries were working to ascertain Libi’s fate.
The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism operations, said Libi had been serving as “general manager” for al-Qaeda’s main branch, overseeing the terrorist group’s day-to-day operations in Pakistan as well as its links to affiliates around the world.
U.S. and Pakistani officials confirmed that missiles struck a house in North Waziristan, a tribal province on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, around sunrise Monday, and that multiple deaths were reported. A security official from the area said in a phone interview that numerous “foreigners” were described as being among the victims. The term is generally used by local residents to refer to al-Qaeda fighters.
While it remained unclear whether Libi or “other high-value targets” were among the dead, the official said, there were a “large number” of victims, including men thought to be of Arab or Central Asian descent.
A local tribal source reached by telephone also described large numbers of bodies but said civilians were being kept away from the destroyed house.
“Initially, four people were killed, but when the militants reached the spot, another strike occurred that killed many more, raising the death toll to 16,” the source said.
Area residents said the house in the remote village of Khasso Khel was demolished in the strike. The house had 15 to 20 rooms and belonged to a “local facilitator of Arab fighters, to provide them accommodation,” one tribal source said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from militants.