US missiles on Thursday killed Al-Qaeda's chief in Pakistan, one of the Americans' main targets in the volatile country and wanted for attacks that killed scores of people, officials said.
ISLAMABAD- Badr Mansoor, who reputedly sent fighters to Afghanistan and ran a training camp in North Waziristan, was killed in a pre-dawn drone strike near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials and a member of his group told AFP.
"He died in the missile attacks overnight in Miranshah. His death is a major blow to Al-Qaeda's abilities to strike in Pakistan," a senior Pakistani official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
His death was confirmed by one of his loyalists.
"Badr Mansoor was killed in the missile attack," a militant among his group confirmed by telephone.
Intelligence officials in North Waziristan said Mansoor had been killed, but other Pakistani officials were divided.
"We're not sure. We cannot give confirmation just like that," one of them told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Four militants were reported killed in the pre-dawn drone strike, which targeted a compound in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan.