Top Al Qaeda Commander Killed In Pakistan

CBS News Confirms Death Of Abu Laith Al-Libi, A Key Link Between Al Qaeda And Taliban

(CBS/AP)  Abu Laith al-Libi, a top al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan who was blamed for bombing a base while Vice President Cheney was visiting last year, has been killed in Pakistan, CBS News confirms.

The death was first reported by a Web site used by militant groups.

Al-Libi was a key link between the Taliban and al Qaeda and was one of the Americans' 12 most-wanted men with a bounty of $200,000 on his head.

"He was martyred with a group of his brothers in the land of Muslim Pakistan," said the Web site, which frequently carries announcements from militant groups. "Though we are sad for his loss, he left a legacy that will inflame the enemy nation and religion."

The statement included al-Libi's picture. In an earlier announcement on the same site, a banner appeared in a section reserved for affiliated militant groups and not open to public posting.

"We congratulate the Islamic nation for the martyrdom of the sheik, the lion, Abu Laith al-Libi," it said.

Before the postings, there had been reports of an attack on militants in a Pakistani village. Pakistani intelligence officials and local residents said a missile hit a compound about 2.5 miles outside Mir Ali in North Waziristan late Monday or early Tuesday, destroying the facility.

Residents said they were not allowed to approach the site of the blast and the Pakistan government and military said they did not know who fired the missile. Local officials said foreigners were targeted in the attack.

One intelligence official in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bodies of those killed were badly mangled by the force of the explosion and it was difficult to identify them. The official estimated 12 people were killed, including Arabs, Turkemen from central Asia and local Taliban members.

Two top officials of Pakistan's Interior Ministry said they could not confirm al-Libi's death and were still trying to gather details on the missile strike. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the attack.

A U.S. intelligence official told CBS News "it appears he has met his demise."

"It was a major success in taking one of the top terrorists in the world off the street," the official said. He added that the death occurred "within the last few days."

U.S.-led coalition and NATO-led force in Afghanistan could not confirm al-Libi's death. An official with the NATO-led force said they were picking up some signals from the Web, but could not confirm whether al-Libi was dead.

"There is no confirmation from our side," said a NATO official in Kabul on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

Pakistani counterterrorism officials say he was an al Qaeda spokesman and commander in eastern Afghanistan.

Al-Libi is the CIA's biggest kill in two years, which speaks volumes about al Qaeda's ability to operate with near impunity in Pakistan's tribal areas, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.

In January 2006, the CIA fired missiles at a house where bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, was believed to be meeting. Several senior operatives were killed but Zawahiri was not there. Since then a lack of intelligence and concerns that such strikes only inflame anti-American hatreds had led to a virtual cease fire, Martin reports.

The U.S. says al-Libi - whose name means "the Libyan" in Arabic - was likely behind the February 2007 bombing at the U.S. base at Bagram in Afghanistan during a visit by Cheney. The attack killed 23 people but Cheney was deep inside the sprawling base and was not hurt.

The bombing added to the impression that Western forces and the shaky government of President Hamid Karzai are vulnerable to assault by Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

Al-Libi also led an al Qaeda training camp and appeared in a number of al Qaeda Internet videos.

Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said last year that al-Libi was a guerrilla fighter "knowledgeable about how to conduct suicide bombing missions and how to inflict the most civilian casualties." He had probably directed "one or more terror training camps," Belcher said.

Belcher said al-Libi had been the subject of "especially close focus" by U.S. intelligence since 2005, when U.S. forces destroyed a militant training camp believed set up by al-Libi in the eastern Afghan province of Khost. That was an admission that terror camps continued to operate on Afghan soil since the Taliban regime's ouster more than five years ago.

Belcher described al-Libi as "transient," moving where he thinks he can count on support.

"Terrorists like al-Libi use the rugged terrain of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to conceal themselves while they plan violent insurgent activities. Our sources indicate that Abu Laith al-Libi favors tribal regions, including North Waziristan," Belcher said.

North Waziristan is a lawless enclave in neighboring Pakistan where last year the Pakistani government reached a peace deal with pro-Taliban militants. U.S. officials have since expressed concern that al Qaeda could be regrouping in Pakistan's border zone.

Mir Ali is the second largest town in North Waziristan and has a strong presence of foreign militants, mostly Uzbeks with links to al Qaeda who fled to Pakistan's tribal regions after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001.

A Pakistani intelligence official said that al-Libi had stayed until late 2003 in the North Waziristan village of Norak, about three miles outside Mir Ali, where he had several compounds. Norak is about nine miles from where the missile struck this week.

Al-Libi shifted inside Afghanistan after he took charge of al Qaeda operations on both sides of the border area, but retained links with Norak, the official said.

[rgmiron]

And you can throw in the singinricks with them too!!

[rgmiron]

libsluvsuvs,,, Maybe you folks want Huckajesus ?? --- He thinks Jesus will save us, as he changes our Constitution to Religious Laws

You want to know what''''s wrong with this country ??? -- It''''s your GOP
NO, what is wrong with this country is the j-whitmans of it!!!!

[feelfree1]

No body.

No confirmation.

No nothing.

This article reads like unsubstantiated garbage from start to finish.

[liberalme]

Bomb your way to heaven--Christians like Rick and the killing muslims are on the same side----RADICAL!

[liberalme]

Total Christian domination will be achieved by ending the separation of church and state, replacing U.S. democracy with a theocracy ruled by Old Testament law, and cutting all government social programs, instead turning that work over to Christian churches. We will also abolish government regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. EPA, because they are a distraction from our goal of Christianizing America, and subsequently, the rest of the world.

World conquest. That''''s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel and an iron fist! And we must never settle for anything less than total conquest. Only when that conquest is complete can the Lord return. And they will no Jesus''''s love when we rain bombs down upon their families.
Praise Jesus!

Posted by singingrick at 12:15 PM : Feb 01, 2008

EXACTLY how the muslims feel about their religion---puts YOU on the same place as them Rick!!!

[prinzowhales]

Right...the "SITE Institute which monitors the internet..."...that was beyond the capacity of the poor old NSA...dey jus''can''t han''nel dat internet... they''re all tied up with rotary dial phones copying Abu''s phone calls to al Qaeda Central on reel to reel..."Mrs. Wiggins could you get Osama on the line..."...

...SITE is a way of distancing NSA from the propaganda effort...SITE is as much tied into the production of intelligence data as anything else. In a sense, it is like Douglas Feith''s Pentagon propaganda mill that manufactured much of the case against Iraq out of whole cloth.

With SITE, the AGITPROP people can attribute information to them without the acute embarrassment of having the ''terrorist'' messages being traced back to London and intel fronts. They''ve already been caught with their watermark being applied at the same time as the watermark of al Qaeda''s PR arm on their joint productions.

[prinzowhales]

Right...the "SITE Institute which monitors the internet..."...that was beyond the capacity of the poor old NSA...dey jus''can''t han''nel dat internet... they''re all tied up with rotary dial phones copying Abu''s phone calls to al Qaeda Central on reel to reel..."Mrs. Wiggins could you get Osama on the line..."...

...SITE is a way of distancing NSA from the propaganda effort...SITE is as much tied into the production of intelligence data as anything else. In a sense, it is like Douglas Feith''s Pentagon propaganda mill that manufactured much of the case against Iraq out of whole cloth.

With SITE, the AGITPROP people can attribute information to them without the acute embarrassment of having the ''terrorist'' messages being traced back to London and intel fronts. They''ve already been caught with their watermark being applied at the same time as the watermark of al Qaeda''s PR arm on their joint productions.

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,,,, You are confused dudeette --- You are thinking of cross-dressing butt thumping Rudy Giulani & the repubplican''s with their Log Cabin Republicans, Senator Wide Stance & butt thumping Christian Faith Based people like Ted Haggard

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,, Maybe you folks want Huckajesus ?? --- He thinks Jesus will save us, as he changes our Constitution to Religious Laws

You want to know what''s wrong with this country ??? -- It''s your GOP

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,, Think McCain can get er done ??? -- Not likely:

McCain who''''s so old he has to take out additional life insurance to get campaign loans ???

Mr Amnisty ???? -- "I''m a POW, I''m a POW, I know how to secure the borders, I''''m from a border state, I''m a POW" --- Arizona has Mexico''s army condicting maneurvers at will,, Locked & Loaded against our Border Patrol

-- I''m a POW, I''m a POW, I know how catch Ossama, I''m a POW" --- For 7 friggin years he ''''Rubber Stamped'''' Bush''s failed polices & refused to fight for more troops.

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,, Guess what ??? Bush''''s lackies are funding war lords & drug lords in Afaganistan with your money ---- It''''s a definate lack of progress in 6 friggin years

Al Queda & Taliban training camps are untouched after 6 friggin years

[j-whitman]

Is the U.S. Failing in Afghanistan?

It was malice in wonderland at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday as Bush Administration envoys insisted things are getting better in Afghanistan, while angry lawmakers from both parties cited facts and figures showing just the opposite. Even the senior Republican on the panel, Senator Richard Lugar, found the Administration''s claims wanting. "I''m not sure that we have a plan for Afghanistan," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080201/us_time/istheusfailinginafghanistan;_ylt=AvoRUtKThB_bKioyKDhNnsGs0NUE

[j-whitman]

Looks like the GOP is at it again, abusing terrorism for elections --
--- No proof this dude was killed or even there
--- Homeland Security added 60 areas to the list of high risk terrorist attack & expects $782 million to do anything for them ??? Politicians spend more for campaigning

[libsluvsuvs]

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 09:56 AM : Feb 02, 2008
+ report abuse

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if we allow people who thinks like your..every entity, every organization, every society and every nation these people do decide to extend its influence WOULD BE A FAILED STATE..its the "it takes too much effort and sacrifice" mentality.

the middle east region is in a state of transition..and unlike the liberal vision like in the movies..clooney cannot fix it in 2 hours.

[toolmangler-2009]

am a prophet and leader of the Christian Zionists. We are an End-Time faction numbering 20 million Americans. Christian Zionists believe that the 1948 creation of the state of Israel marked the first event in the "countdown to Armageddon" and we are committed to making that doomsday clock tick faster, speeding Christ''''s return.

Posted by singingrick at 10:31 AM : Feb 01, 2008



If you mean that statement, then that make you as big an Anti-Christ as patriotic9. You cannot force GODs hand, your words attempt to make you equal to GOD by seeming to be able to force him to do anything.

patriotic9 is the Anti-Christ, He proves it with every word he speaks or writes. He is Anti-hope for the oppressed, anti-love for the unfortunate who have no hope for a better life because he insists in forcing his non-belief on others in the same fashion that he accuses devout miunderstanding religious peoples of doing, The big difference between he and they is that he does his preaching out of hate, and they do their preaching out of love. If he wishes to be a more effective Anti-Christ he needs to read the book of Revelations, Isaiah, Daniel, and several others so he might understand his role better.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by libsluvsuvs at 12:46 AM : Feb 02, 2008

Well, if they not failed states, then we can come home and let them live happily ever after.

Bring our troops home and fire a billion dollars worth of security contractors.

Now see how easy that is?

[terrorislam6]

hey hussein!!!

tell your brothers and sisters to stop killing non-muslims

why is hip hop hussein''s brothers and sisters of the muslim tribe luo in kenya murdering non_muslims???

typical of the radical retarded fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadist slavers and murders

barack hussein obama(D-KENYA)

"You are all my brothers and sisters," Mr Obama told crowds of excited residents who craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the senator.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5290844.stm

One of Obama Jr''s great grandfathers (several generations back), "Owiny" was said to be a powerful leader of the Luo tribe, which moved into Kenya some 400 years ago.

Sarah Obama, a devout Muslim, was quoted telling Obama Jr. "What your grandfather respected was strength. Discipline. This is also why he rejected the Christian religion, I think. For a brief time he converted [to Christianity], and even changed his name to Johnson. But he could not understand such ideas as mercy towards your enemies, or that this man Jesus could wash away a man''s sins. To your grandfather, this was a foolish sentiment, something to comfort women. And so he converted to Islam-he thought its practices conformed more closely to his beliefs."
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan08/obama_lou%20tribe.htm

[telecom_1]

Heroin opium suicide terrorists deserve to be punished. There is no rest or peace for the wicked.

[libsluvsuvs]

FEELFREE1... I am sorry to hear about your loss..condolences..where should i send the flowers??

[libsluvsuvs]

why is Afaganistan becomming a Failed State & Iraq about to collapse ????


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Posted by j-whitman at 05:22 PM : Feb 01, 2008
+ report abuse


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Because that is what most bloggers are telling you?? those morons can tell you that saddam and osama were cross dressing homosexuals and was having a threesome with your daddy AND I BET YOU WOULD BELIEVE THAT TOO..