Qaeda Deputy Targeted in Drone Strike in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The fate of one of the United States’ most dedicated enemies was the subject of mounting speculation on Monday after a drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt was said to have targeted Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Qaeda commander who escaped American custody in 2005 and became the group’s deputy leader after Osama bin Laden’s death last year.

Tribal sources in Mir Ali, where the drone attack occurred, said Mr. Libi was either killed or seriously wounded in the strike, which Pakistani officials said killed at least 15 people. It was the third strike in three days in the tribal belt.

In Washington, American officials familiar with the strikes confirmed that Mr. Libi, believed to be in his late 40s, was the target of the attack. But they said they did not know whether he had survived. Officials appeared to be wary because, as with some other top militants sheltering in the region, Mr. Libi has been falsely reported dead before — in December 2009 after a drone strike in South Waziristan. By Monday night in Pakistan, no concrete evidence had emerged to prove that the latest accounts of his death were accurate.

But from Peshawar, the main city in northwestern Pakistan, to Islamabad and Washington, officials confirmed that they were taking such reports very seriously. If true, it would be the United States government’s greatest gain against Al Qaeda since Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad last year.

“People are looking very closely to see whether he’s still alive,” said one American official who was monitoring intelligence reports, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “It’ll take some time for people to gain a high level of confidence that he’s dead. But he’s No. 2 in Al Qaeda, and this would be a major blow.”

The strike occurred early Monday in Hassu Khel, a small village in North Waziristan, just south of Mir Ali, when a drone fired several missiles at a compound and a nearby pickup truck, local Pakistani officials said. As many as 16 people were killed in the attack, making it the deadliest in the tribal belt since November 2011.