Pakistan's president says a close relative of al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was among five militants killed in a US missile attack on a home in a tribal village last month.
President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that al-Zawahiri was expected at a gathering at the home in the Bajur area near the Afghan border, but he did not attend.
The Pakistani president did not disclose the names of the dead, but Mr. Musharraf said they included a man who the United States has offered a five-million dollar reward for his capture.
Shortly after the attack, unnamed Pakistani security sources were quoted as identifying one of the dead as Midhat Mursi (also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri), a chemical weapons expert who reportedly ran an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. A five-million-dollar reward has been posted for his capture. Also reported killed was al-Zawahiri's son-in-law.
President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that al-Zawahiri was expected at a gathering at the home in the Bajur area near the Afghan border, but he did not attend.
The Pakistani president did not disclose the names of the dead, but Mr. Musharraf said they included a man who the United States has offered a five-million dollar reward for his capture.
Shortly after the attack, unnamed Pakistani security sources were quoted as identifying one of the dead as Midhat Mursi (also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri), a chemical weapons expert who reportedly ran an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. A five-million-dollar reward has been posted for his capture. Also reported killed was al-Zawahiri's son-in-law.