The Blotter: Brian Ross Investigates

Al Qaeda Chief of Operations in Pakistan Killed

PHOTO: Confirmed from an administration official: al qaeda chief of operations in Pakistan killed. Bkgd comment shortly.

Al Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan was killed earlier this week, senior administration officials said today.

Abu Hafs al-Shahri, killed in Pakistan's Waziristan region, "played a key operational and administrative role for the group," a senior official told ABC News.

The official said al-Shahri was the terror leader tasked with plotting al Qaeda's anti-U.S. operations in the region and worked with the Pakistani Taliban to launch attacks in Pakistan.

"This is another blow at the core of al Qaeda in Pakistan," the official said.

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Al-Shahri's death comes less than a month after al Qaeda's number two commander, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, was taken out also in Pakistan.

SITE Intel Group
Abu Hafs al-Shahri, an Al Qaeda chief of... View Full Size
PHOTO: Confirmed from an administration official: al qaeda chief of operations in Pakistan killed. Bkgd comment shortly.
SITE Intel Group
Abu Hafs al-Shahri, an Al Qaeda chief of operations in Pakistan, has been killed.

READ: Al Qaeda No. 2 Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Killed in Pakistan

After the killing of al Qaeda's founder and longtime leader Osama bin Laden in May, the U.S. has managed to capture or kill several high-profile militants in recent months, including the group's number three commander Sheik Saeed al-Masri and Ilyas Kashmiri, the leader of a violent al Qaeda-connected organization.

Officials did not say how al-Shahri was killed, but three militants were reportedly killed in a drone attack on the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks Sunday.

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