Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, US and Pakistani officials said last night.
A Libyan national, Rahman never had the worldwide name recognition of Osama bin Laden or his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. But Rahman was regarded as an instrumental figure in the terrorist organisation, trusted by bin Laden to oversee al-Qaeda’s daily operations.
When Navy Seals stormed Osama bin Laden’s compound and killed him in May, they found evidence of Rahman’s deep involvement in running al-Qaeda.
Zawahiri is running the group but is considered a divisive figure who lacks the founder’s charisma and ability to galvanise al-Qaeda’s disparate franchises.
A US official said Rahman’s death will make it harder for Zawahiri to oversee what is considered an increasingly weakened organisation. “Zawahiri needed Atiyah’s experience and connections to help manage al-Qaeda,” the official said.
Rahman was killed on August 22nd in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, according to a senior administration official.
A Pakistani intelligence official said Rahman died in a US missile strike in Machi Khel village in North Waziristan.
Intelligence officials had said at the time that four people were killed in the attack.
But a CIA drone strike was reported that day in Waziristan. Such strikes by unmanned aircraft are Washington’s weapon of choice for killing terrorists in the mountainous, hard-to-reach area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Rahman joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union.
He once served as bin Laden’s personal emissary to Iran. Rahman was allowed to move freely in and out of Iran as part of that arrangement and has been operating out of Waziristan for some time, officials have said.
AP