Al-Qaida No.2 may have been killed in U.S. airstrike: CNN
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-14 09:05

A U.S. airstrike in Pakistan targeted al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri but it was unclear if he had been killed, U.S. media quoted U.S. and Pakistani sources as saying on Friday.

Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and the Egyptian-born Zawahiri have eluded capture since U.S.-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government in 2001 after the September 11 attacks.

CNN quoted what they said were knowledgeable sources as saying the CIA ordered the airstrike on buildings after receiving intelligence that al-Zawahiri was in a village near the border with Afghanistan.

ABC news quoted Pakistani military sources as saying that five of those killed were "high-level" al Qaeda figures.

CIA officials declined to comment on the report.

A Pakistani security official and residents of a border region said earlier that U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan killed 18 people, including women and children, when they fired missiles at pro-Taliban Islamists early on Friday.

Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said up to 14 people had been killed in several blasts in the Bajaur tribal region but said he did not know the cause.

A Pakistani intelligence official said four U.S. aircraft had intruded into Pakistani airspace and fired four missiles.