Two Top Al Qaeda Operatives Killed
A U.S. counterterrorism official confirms that two al Qaeda operatives, who were on the FBI's most wanted terrorists list, have been killed in a missile strike in Pakistan's tribal areas.
At left: Al-Kini and Swedan (right) are seen in artificially age-enhanced images from an FBI Most Wanted poster.
Both men were involved in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa, and more recently they had been tied to a string of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including last September's car-bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. Kini also was behind a failed 2007 assassination attempt on former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
U.S. officials will not comment on the specifics of the missile strike which was carried out by a predator drone Jan. 1.
Kini is described as being "among the top 12 al Qaeda operatives." Salim Swedan was a lower ranking member of bin Laden's group.