Tribal sources said on Saturday a US drone attack had killed a senior al Qaeda commander. Abu Zaid was killed in the drone strike on a hideout in North Waziristan, one of the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan, early on Thursday, the sources said. Zaid had just moved to the hideout a few days ago, they said. Security officials based in North Waziristan said they were aware of the death of a senior al Qaeda commander but could not confirm his identity or rank.

Zaid replaced Abu Yahya al-Libi as one of al Qaeda's most powerful figures in June after Libi was killed by a US drone strike. Ten others were also killed in that attack.

Copyright Reuters, 2012