WASHINGTON — A top al-Qaida operative was killed earlier this week in Pakistan's tribal region, landing another blow against the besieged terrorist network, a senior Obama administration official told NBC News on Thursday.
His "death removes a key threat inside Pakistan," the official said, because he collaborated closely with the Pakistani Taliban to conduct coordinated attacks.
The man killed in Waziristan was identified as Abu Hafs al-Shahri, whom U.S. officials described as al-Qaida's chief of operations in Pakistan and a Saudi citizen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe classified counterterrorist operations.
Al-Shahri was also a contender to assume some duties of al-Qaida's second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, the sources said.
Al-Rahman was killed by a CIA drone strike in late August, which is apparently how Al-Shahri was also killed, though U.S. officials refused to confirm the method since the drone program is classified.
As al-Qaida's Pakistan operations chief, a U.S. official said, al-Shahri's responsibilities included coordinating the activities of al-Qaida's depleted central leadership with Pakistan's principal network of Taliban militants, known as the TTP.
Al-Shahri is actually 30-year old Saudi Arabian national Osama Hamoud al-Shehri. He is #68 on Saudi Arabia's list of its "most wanted" 85 terrorist suspects.
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