Senior Al Qaeda Operative Killed

A suspect slain in a shootout with Pakistani agents this week was a senior al Qaeda operative from Syria behind militant attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions and against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan's interior minister said Saturday.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao identified the suspect as Marwan Hadid al-Suri, 38. He died in a gunbattle Thursday after the agents, acting on tip-off, stopped him at a roadblock at Khar, a town near the northwestern tribal region of Bajur.

"He (al-Suri) was in charge of al Qaeda operations against Pakistani forces in North and South Waziristan. He was behind attacks against coalition and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan," Sherpao told The Associated Press.

His identity was confirmed after experts scanned a laptop computer, a diary and some other documents found in his vehicle after the shootout that left one agent dead and two wounded, a security official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to media.

Al-Suri, said to be an explosives experts, also ran a financial network and had distributed money among terrorists and their families, including a relative of al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the official said. It was not clear when and where.

According to information found in the diary, al-Suri had distributed amounts of up to $2,500, the official said. On the computer there was information on how to use explosives.

However, investigators found no information on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri or al-Zarqawi, he said.