KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S airstrike in northwest Pakistan is believed to have killed a front-line leader of al-Qaeda, anti-terror officials said this week, continuing an aerial barrage that has angered a key American ally but is thought to have hurt the network’s operations.
Intelligence indicates that a missile fired from a U.S. Predator drone killed Khaled Habib, a veteran Egyptian militant who became a leader this year of the “external operations” core based in South Asia but which targets the West, a senior European anti-terror official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Habib’s vehicle was blown up in the attack Oct. 16 in the village of Saam, a hub of foreign militants protected by tribesmen loyal to a Taliban chief, according to the senior official. Los Angeles Times
