Senior Afghanistan Qaeda leader Libi killed

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, described by Western authorities as one of Osama bin Laden's top six lieutenants, has been killed, U.S. officials and an al-Qaeda-linked Web site said on Thursday.

The Web site said Abu Laith al-Libi had been killed in Pakistan, suggesting he may have died in a suspected U.S. missile strike that killed up to 13 foreign militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan border area this week.

The prominence of the Libyan-born militant in al Qaeda was shown last year by his appearance in a video with the group's deputy leader. He was the first spokesman to announce bin Laden had survived the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

A statement on the Al-Fajr Media Center, a Web site often used by Islamic militants, said Libi had been "martyred along with a group of his brothers on the territory of Islamic Pakistan."

"May God accept (Libi as a martyr)," the Ekhlaas.org Web site said. A Western official and senior U.S. defense official confirmed the Web site's report.

There was no official word in Washington on the circumstances of Libi's death, which coincided with intensive contacts between U.S. and Pakistani security officials after a year in which violence escalated sharply in Afghanistan.

A Pakistani daily, The News, said the suspected U.S. strike on Monday had targeted Libi and another senior figure, Obaidah al Masri, though residents in the tribal area had said the attack had targeted second or third tier al Qaeda leaders.

Tribesmen had said a deputy of Libi had been staying in the area, which borders Afghanistan, and was among the dead, according to an intelligence official.

"You're talking about a very seasoned commander ... the top or one of the absolute top military commanders that al Qaeda had in the region. That's what they lost," the Western official said.

TOP AL QAEDA LEADER

He said Libi was one of the top six leaders in al Qaeda's global structure and said it was reasonable to suppose his reach extended into Pakistan. Al Qaeda has reconstituted its leadership in Pakistan's North Waziristan border area.

An intelligence official told Reuters in Pakistan the attack was believed to have been carried out by a pilotless U.S. Predator aircraft flown across the nearby border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the attack, and the Pentagon has denied taking part. But the Defense Department does not speak for the Central Intelligence Agency, which operates Predators. The CIA declined to comment.

Washington, alarmed by growing al Qaeda activity including a number of plots uncovered in western countries with links to Pakistan militants, has renewed a push for greater Pakistani cooperation against al Qaeda. Senior U.S. security officials including CIA Director Michael Hayden were in the area this month.

"There may be an opportunity here (Pakistan) to better focus how we can help in that area, both for our own interests and for their interests," U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright said earlier this month.