Top Al Qaeda Leader Killed by US Airstrike in Afghanistan: Officials

A senior Al Qaeda leader who was targeted by a U.S. airstrike last month in Afghanistan was killed, the Pentagon confirmed Friday.

The leader, Nayef Salam Muhammad Ujaym al-Hababi (who also went by aliases Farouq al Qahtani al-Qatari and Sheikh Farooq) died during the “precision strike” in eastern Afghanistan on Oct. 23.

As NBC News reports, Saudi-born Al-Hababi was Al Qaeda’s emir in eastern Afghanistan and one of the group’s fundraisers in the Persian Gulf. He along with Balal al-Utabi, who was also targeted in the Oct. 23 raid, were involved in plots to strike targets in Europe and the U.S.

Military officials have not yet confirmed that al-Utabi also died in the airstrike.

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