US drone strike in Pak kills senior al-Qaeda commander

A senior al-Qaeda leader and three others were killed Sunday in a US drone strike in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region, the second time a top terrorist has died in an attack by the CIA-operated spy planes in less than a week.

Mohammad Ahmed Almansoor was killed when drones targeted a compound in Tabi village located a short distance from Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, security officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

Some reports said the three others killed in the attack were members of Almansoor's family. Local residents said they had seen several drones hovering over the area after the attack.

On Thursday, another al-Qaeda commander, Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan alias Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti, was killed when in a drone strike that targeted a compound in Mir Ali town of North Waziristan Agency, security officials said.

Earlier this year, Al-Kuwaiti had replaced Abu Yahya al-Libi, al-Qaeda's second-in-command who too was killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan in June.

Al-Kuwaiti's wife and daughter too were wounded in the drone attack. His wife later died in a hospital in Miranshah.

After the drone strike Thursday, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf conveyed Pakistan's opposition to drone strikes to US Ambassador Richard Olson and said the two sides should find "alternative ways to eliminate terrorists".

ALSO READ

Agent in America raises funds for Imran's party, sends over $7 lakh

LeJ, death squads loom over Baloch polls

Pak prosecutor handling 26/11 attack, Bhutto assassination cases shot dead

Veteran BBC sportscaster Stuart Hall admits 14 indecent assaults