Al Qaeda's new second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, was killed earlier this week in Pakistan, dealing a 'major blow' to the group still reeling from the death of Osama bin Laden, US officials said on Saturday.
Rahman, a Libyan national, rose to the number two spot when Ayman al-Zawahri took the reins of al Qaeda after bin Laden was killed in May in a US raid in Pakistan.
Officials did not say how Rahman was killed, but said it happened in Waziristan in northwest Pakistan where intelligence officials believe members of al Qaeda are hiding out.
'Atiyah's death is a tremendous loss for al Qaeda, because (Zawahri) was relying heavily on him to help guide and run the organisation, especially since bin Laden's death,' a US official said.
Source : New Age
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