Yemen official: Bomb maker not killed
Al-Qaida's top bomb maker in Yemen did not die in a drone strike on a convoy, a top Yemeni official said Sunday, a report that dashed the hopes of U.S. officials who thought the attack might have killed a trio of top al-Qaida personnel.
The U.S. drone strike Friday killed U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and an American propagandist, Samir Khan, who published a slick English-language Web magazine that spouted al-Qaida's anti-Western ideology.
U.S. intelligence officials had said it appeared that bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri was among the dead.
But Sunday the Yemeni official released a list of two others whose bodies had been identified and noted that al-Asiri was not one of them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
The Saudi-born al-Asiri, 29, who is of Pakistani descent, was tied to the so-called underwear bomb that was used in an attempt to bring down a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas 2009.
A Nigerian man has been charged in that attack. Al-Asiri was also believed to have been behind an intercepted pair of explosives-laden printers that were mailed from Yemen to the United States in 2010.
There was no immediate official word from the United States regarding the identities of the bodies. -- AP
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
