ISLAMABAD — The fate of one of the United States’ most dedicated enemies was the subject of mounting speculation Monday after a drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt was said to have targeted Abu Yahya al-Libi, the al-Qaeda commander who escaped U.S. custody in 2005 and became the group’s deputy leader after Osama bin Laden’s death last year.
Tribal sources in Mir Ali, where the drone attack occurred, said al-Libi was either killed or seriously wounded in the strike, which Pakistani officials said killed at least 14 people. It was the third strike in three days in the tribal belt.
In Washington, U.S. officials familiar with the strikes confirmed that al-Libi, believed to be in his late 40s, was the target of the attack. But they said they did not know whether he had survived.
Officials appeared to be wary because, as with some other top militants sheltering in the Waziristan region, al-Libi has been falsely reported dead before — in December 2009 after a drone strike in South Waziristan. By Monday night, no concrete evidence had emerged to prove the latest accounts of his death were accurate.
But from Peshawar, the main city in northwestern Pakistan, to Islamabad and Washington, officials confirmed they were taking such reports very seriously. If true, it would be the U.S. government’s greatest gain against al-Qaeda since Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Abbottabad last year.
“People are looking very closely to see whether he’s still alive,” said one U.S. official who was monitoring intelligence reports, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “It’ll take some time for people to gain a high level of confidence that he’s dead. But he’s No. 2 in al-Qaeda, and this would be a major blow.”
The attack in North Waziristan, a bustling hub of Taliban and al-Qaeda militancy along the Afghan border, was the latest signal of the Obama administration’s determination to press ahead with its drone campaign.
The attacks have outraged Pakistani officials even while negotiations continue to try to reopen NATO supply lines through Pakistan into Afghanistan. The supply lines have been closed since November, after U.S. airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Weeks of private negotiations have become bogged down in arguments over transit fees. But with a congressional deadline looming, officials from both countries agree that time is running short.
A senior Defense Department official, Peter Lavoy, is due in Islamabad this week as part of urgent efforts to break the deadlock.
