This image released by the Site Intelligence Group made from undated video shows Sheikh Sa'id al-Masri, also known as Mustafa al-Yazid. In what could be one of the hardest blows to al-Qaida since the U.S. campaign against the terrorist organization began, the group's No. 3, al-Masri, is believed to be dead, killed by a U.S. Predator drone strike, a U.S. official said Monday, May 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Site Intelligence Group)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Two Pakistani intelligence officials are offering more details on the apparent death of the third-ranking Al-Qaida figure.
They say Mustafa Al-Yazid died in a U.S. missile strike on May 21 in the north Waziristan tribal area.
The intelligence officials say they received word of Al-Yazid's death last week and confirmed it by speaking with local tribal elders and Taliban members. But they said the sources hadn't seen Al-Yazid's body and didn't know where he was buried.
The Egyptian-born Al-Yazid was a founding member of Al-Qaida. According to a U.S. official, he was key to the day-to-day control of the organization, involved in everything from finances to operational planning.
Al-Yazid has been reported killed before. But this is the first time Al-Qaida has acknowledged the death, in a posting on a website. The statement said he was killed along with several family members.
(COPYRIGHT 2010 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
