Al Qaeda bomber was main target of Hellfire attack that got Brit terrorist

Times:

A top al-Qaeda explosives expert was the main target of the US spy-drone attack in Pakistan last weekend and not the British terrorism suspect who also apparently died in the strike, intelligence sources have told The Times.

Abu Zubair al-Masri, an Egyptian described as being “high up in the al-Qaeda pecking order”, was understood to have been holding an operational meeting with four other key figures, including Rashid Rauf, the British-Pakistani terror suspect, when three Hellfire missiles were fired at their thick-walled compound in the village of Ali Khel, about ten miles from the Afghan-Pakistan border.

British intelligence officials indicated that it had been a strictly US operation and that the tip-off – from the Pakistanis – about five suspected al-Qaeda operatives in the compound in North Waziristan had required an instant response.

The apparent lack of prior knowledge on the part of the British, however, raised concerns about embarrassing gaps in intelligence-sharing between the CIA and MI6. Al-Masri is thought to be one of the most senior al-Qaeda members to be killed this year. The sources said it was most likely that he was the principle reason for the attack and that it may not have been known that Rauf was also present. Al-Masri – one of several known al-Qaeda members to bear the name, which means “the Egyptian” – was described as being close to Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, also an Egyptian.

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A senior Western diplomat said that the Bannu strike had been aimed at al-Zawahiri. Bin Laden’s deputy has long been believed to be in the tribal areas, although several previous strikes occurred further north in the Bajaur region and Pakistani intelligence continues to place him there....

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For reasons that are not clear from the reporting the Brits appear to be in a bit of a snit about the take out of the terrorist. I think it may be because of their tendency to go with a lawfare approach to dealing with terrorism. I think he received adequate due process before the death penalty was executed. He had plenty of opportunity to give himself up after his escape from custody.

I tend to doubt that Zawahiri was a target of this attack. I think if the US thought he was in the area it would have used even more Hellfire missiles.