Al-Qa'ida leader Fahd al-Quso killed by drone strike in Yemen

An airstrike carried out by a CIA drone killed a top al-Qa'ida leader yesterday.

Fahd al-Quso, who had a $5m (£3.1m) bounty on his head, was on the FBI's most wanted list for his role in the bombing of the USS Cole warship at Aden in 2000. The attack killed 17 American sailors and injured 39. Al-Quso was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle, along with another al-Qaida operative in the southern Shabwa province. The drone strike was carried out after an extended surveillance operation by the CIA and US, but was authorized by the Yemeni government.

He served five years in a Yemeni prison for the USS Cole attack, but was also one of the most senior al-Qa'ida leaders linked to the failed bombing of a US airliner using a device hidden in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's underwear.

AP