Abu Yahya Al-Libi is a rock star in the jihadist world. With hisvideos and lectures going viral on the Web, he is Al Qaeda's Mr.YouTube. On Monday, the top Al Qaeda operative reportedly was the intendedtarget of the latest U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, strikes thathave been increasingly unpopular among Pakistanis but successful inrecent years at taking out terrorist leaders. The latest strike reportedly killed eight militants in the tribalregion of North Waziristan. U.S. and Pakistani government sourcestold Reuters that Al-Libi was the intended target, but they couldnot confirm whether he had been hit. It was the third strike in three days in Pakistan, with a Talibanleader killed in the first strike. And it was said to be the eighthstrike in the last two weeks. The target zone, Mir Ali, is described by sources as a terroristhaven that is a "crossroads" for the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and thelatest strike, according to Pakistani officials, is believed tohave killed foreign fighters -- code for Arab members of Al Qaedaor Western recruits. As for Al-Libi, he made his name in July 2005 when he escaped fromthis high security U.S. prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, along withthree other Al Qaeda members. In keeping with his reputation,Al-Libi made a 54-minute video documenting his capture by thePakistanis, his handover to U.S. authorities and escape from theprison. Al-Libi is known as a preacher and scholar who more recently tookthe second-in-command spot when Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahri tookcharge of Al Qaeda after Usama bin Laden's death. As Al Qaeda's defacto general manager, al-Libi oversaw the group's day-to-dayoperations in Pakistan's tribal areas and managed outreach to AlQaeda's regional affiliates. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program had set a $1million reward for information leading to the Libyan-born fugitive. Despite the progress in taking out Al Qaeda leadership, the U.S.drone campaign had been in a holding pattern before the NATO summitin Chicago last month in an effort to mend fences. When Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton was unable to reach a deal with thePakistanis to re-open supply lines for NATO forces, the droneprogram resumed. "This is one of the more prominent names" among the targets ofdrone strikes in Pakistan, which helps bolster the CIA's push tocontinue the drone program despite the continued politicalresistance from Pakistan and collateral damage, added former CIAofficer Paul Pillar. FoxNews.com's Catherine Herridge and The Associated Presscontributed to this report. I am an expert from plastic-injectionmould.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Silicone Rubber Keypads Manufacturer , Die Cast Aluminum Manufacturer, Custom Plastic Injection Molding,and more.
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