US missile attack kills major Al-Qaeda operative

US missile attack kills major Al-Qaeda operative

BANNU: A major Al-Qaeda operative of Arab origin was among the five militants killed in a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan, a senior security official told a foreign news agency Wednesday.Security sources identified the militant as Abdullah Azam Al-Saudi, a senior member in Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network."He was a senior commander of Al-Qaeda and was involved in recruiting and training of fighters," the senior official said.He is the second high-profile Al-Qaeda operative killed in recent US missile strikes in Pakistan's rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan.Egyptian Al-Qaeda operative Abu Jihad al-Masri, described by the US as the terror network's propaganda chief, was killed in a missile strike in Pakistan in the early hours of November 1.He was among several rebels killed when two missiles fired by a suspected US spy drone hit a truck in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, security officials said.