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'Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan killed' 'Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan Abu Hafs al-Shahri killed'
(40 minutes later)
A senior al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri, has been killed, says a senior US official. A senior al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri, has been killed, say senior US officials.
There has been no independent confirmation of the death, which the official said happened in the Waziristan tribal region. There has been no independent confirmation of the death, which officials said happened in the Waziristan tribal region.
The US frequently carries out drone air strikes against suspected militants hiding out in the volatile area.The US frequently carries out drone air strikes against suspected militants hiding out in the volatile area.
Three weeks ago the US said it had killed al-Qaeda's suspected chief of operations, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.Three weeks ago the US said it had killed al-Qaeda's suspected chief of operations, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.
The media are denied access to the area, making it difficult to confirm such claims.The media are denied access to the area, making it difficult to confirm such claims.
The official said Mr Shahri has been killed earlier this week and that his death "removes a key threat inside Pakistan". The US said Mr Shahri has been killed earlier this week and that his death "removes a key threat inside Pakistan".
He said the death would "further degrade al-Qaeda's ability to recover" from the death of Abd al-Rahman. He had played a "key operational and administrative role" in al-Qaeda and had worked closely with the Taliban to carry out attacks in Pakistan, said officials.
There has been no comment as yet from Pakistani officials. The death would "further degrade al-Qaeda's ability to recover" from the death of Abd al-Rahman, they said, as Mr Shahri had been considered a contender to take on some of the dead leader's duties.
The US does not routinely confirm drone operations and there has been no comment as yet from Pakistani officials.
Kabul gunfight
The BBC's Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says a drone strike near Mir Ali in Waziristan last Sunday is known to have killed a key leader of the Haqqani network.
Reports since have suggested that an Arab man whose identify was not clear was also killed, says our correspondent.
The Haqqani network has been blamed for several large attacks in Afghanistan, including a 20-hour gunfight in central Kabul earlier this week.
Abd al-Rahman had reportedly been number two on a list of the five top militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan whom Washington and Islamabad most wanted to capture or kill.
He was considered a close confidant of Osama Bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in a raid in northern Pakistan in May, and was heavily relied on by the group's new leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.