#1 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)--Intercepted radio conversations indicate al-Qaida's top intelligence chief may have been killed in fighting in Pakistan, intelligence officials said Monday, but they admitted that no body has been found. The radio transmissions disclosed that a man named Abdullah had been killed and that the death caused a great deal of distress among the al-Qaida forces, a Pakistani intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. ``He was a very important person for al-Qaida,'' the official said. He added that interrogations of suspected al-Qaida members led the Pakistanis to believe that Abdullah was the group's top intelligence official. Another member of Pakistani intelligence said the military was showing photos of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah to captured militants, but that so far none had identified the photo. He said all available information was also being shared with U.S. intelligence agencies. Without a body--and after earlier speculation that al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri was cornered--the officials were cautious about any conclusions, since many al-Qaida leaders use aliases.
Abdullah or Abdul? |