0 US drone assault 'targeted al-Qaeda deputy'

A US drone strike on Monday in Pakistan targeted al-Qaeda's second-in-command Abu Yahya al-Libi, US officials say.

They say it is still unclear whether he was among those killed in the strike on a suspected militant compound in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

Two missiles by the unmanned aircraft killed 15 people, Pakistani officials say.

Pakistan's foreign ministry strongly condemned the strike, calling it "illegal", Reuters news agency reports.
'Major blow'

A senior US official told the BBC that Libi was the target of Monday's morning strike in Hesokhel, to the east of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan.

The first missile struck the compound, killing three militants, Pakistani security officials said.

A second missile then killed 12 more militants who had arrived at the scene, they added.

If Libi's death is confirmed, it would be a "major blow to core of al-Qaeda", the US official told the BBC.

Washington believes that following Osama Bin Laden's death last year, Libi, an Islamic scholar from Libya, became al-Qaeda's second-in-command after Egyptian born Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Libi is reportedly in charge of day-to-day operations in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Libi was reported killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in 2009, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Pakistan's frontier tribal region is considered a hub of activity by al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

There have been eight US drone strikes in the past two weeks despite Pakistani demands for them to be stopped.

It was the eighth and deadliest attack since 23 March, marking a considerable upsurge in the use of the controversial US drone programme, reports the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad.

It has come about since a deal to reopen Nato supply routes through Pakistan fell through.

The Pakistani government closed the routes six months ago in protest at a US air strike along the Afghan border in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed, an episode which contributed to the current crisis in relations between Washington and Islamabad, our correspondent adds.

Pakistan says the drone attacks fuel anti-US sentiment and claim civilian casualties along with militants. The US insists the strikes are effective.

The strike comes days after more details of the Obama administration's drone policy emerged in the US.

Thanks: bbc.co.uk/news

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0 Model Used To Plan Bin Laden Raid Revealed

A scale model of the Pakistan compound where Osama bin Laden was killed has been unveiled by US intelligence agencies.

Built on a scale of 1in to 7ft, the detailed model now on display in the halls of the Pentagon features every tree, bush and dustbin at the former al Qaeda leader's base in Abbottabad.

Pictures taken by Fox News show the two vehicles often spotted at the real compound - a red van and a white 4x4 car - also feature in the model.

It was created over six weeks by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency using satellite imagery and a process called photogenic measurement, which involved measuring shadows.

Greg Glewwe, an official from the agency, said: "Nothing you see would have been included if we didn't see it there."

Used by military and intelligence leaders to prepare for the pre-dawn raid on May 2 2011, the model has been described by officials as as "instrumental device" in the planning process.

After being assessed by CIA staff, it was studied by military chiefs before being used to brief the team of Navy Seals that carried out the operation.

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0 Clinton on foiled al Qaeda plot: 'Terrorists keep trying'

The latest foiled bomb plot targeting an airliner is an indication that, while the device did not ultimately pose a threat, terrorists remain determined, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Tuesday.

"These terrorists keep trying ... to devise more perverse and terrible ways to kill innocent people, and it's a reminder as to why we have to remain vigilant at home and abroad in protecting our nation and in protecting friendly nations," she told reporters at a news conference in New Delhi.

The plot was thwarted two weeks, a source familiar with the operation said Tuesday. Saudi intelligence assets provided the tip, the source said.

On Monday, officials said U.S. and other intelligence agencies had seized an explosive device that is similar to ones previously used by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Western officials describe as al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, the FBI said.

U.S. officials believe AQAP has more than 1,000 members in Yemen and connections to al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan.

Yemini authorities appeared miffed by the revelations, saying on Tuesday that Washington had not shared any of the information.

"Yemen has been a key ally to the United States when it comes to fighting terror and cooperates in every way possible," said a senior intelligence official in Yemen who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. "It's very sad to know that the United States did not share such critical intelligence information with Yemen."

"The United States cannot win the war on terror alone and intelligence sharing must be bilateral if it expects complete cooperation from Yemen," the official continued.

The plot was discovered before it threatened any Americans, and no airliners were at risk, one U.S. counterterrorism official said. A nonmetallic explosive device like the one used in the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound jet in 2009 was recovered, the official said, adding that it was meant for use by a suicide bomber.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said authorities have "no specific, credible information regarding an active terrorist plot against the U.S. at this time," although they continue to monitor efforts to carry out such attacks.

U.S. President Barack Obama was told about the plot in April, and the attempt "underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad," the White House said.

The threat was foiled around the same time as the anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although a second U.S. counterterrorism official said the attempted attack was not timed to coincide with the death of the al Qaeda leader.

The FBI said it is conducting technical and forensic analysis on the improvised explosive device.

The device was meant to be put on a U.S.-bound airline, U.S. Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN's Anderson Cooper.(Aol)

The New York Republican said discovery of the bomb plot is just one part of an ongoing operation.

"It's not over as far as the operation itself, which is why you're seeing very few details being given out," he said.

Both King and a senior administration official said the intended user of the bomb is no longer a threat.

The recovered device, which never made it near an airport or airplane, was not built to be a so-called body bomb, the official said.

"AQAP is the responsible group here," said a different senior U.S. official.

"While similar, a preliminary review of this device shows that it has some significant differences from the device used in the Christmas Day attack. It is clear that AQAP is revamping its bomb techniques to try to avoid the causes of the failure of the 2009 device," the official said, referring to the Detroit incident.(Bing)

The Yemen affiliate of al Qaeda has been behind two of the most audacious attempts to target the United States in recent years: the attempted 2009 bombing and the printer bombs loaded onto cargo planes in 2010 and destined for an address in Chicago.

In both cases, U.S. authorities believe the bombs were built by Ibrahim al-Asiri. Both devices contained a main charge of PETN, a white powdery explosive that conventional "single beam" X-ray machines are rarely able to detect.

In 2009, al-Asiri fitted out his own brother, Abdullah al-Asiri, with a PETN-based underwear bomb to kill Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a top Saudi security official. The device killed his brother instantly but failed to kill its target.

Senior al Qaeda operative killed by airstrike in Yemen(yahoo)

The government of Yemen has been fighting AQAP for years, with mixed results.

On Sunday, a senior AQAP operative wanted for his role in the USS Cole bombing was killed by an airstrike in Yemen, officials said.

Fahd al Quso, 37, was killed while riding in a vehicle in the Rafdh district in Shabwa province. He was hit by a CIA drone strike, U.S. officials told CNN.

In February, three months before he was taken out, al Quso was asked whether the group had stopped exporting terror operations to the outside.

"The war didn't end between us and our enemies," he replied. "Wait for what is coming."

The weekend attack plus the foiled airline plot delivered a "one-two punch" against AQAP, a senior administration official said.(Google)

"This was a key victory for us. It also reminds us, though, that this war is not going to end in Afghanistan," added King. "Al Qaeda has metastasized and morphed. And they are constantly attempting to find new ways to get at us."

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