Courtesy of the State Department
The U.S. has killed al Qaeda's second in command in Pakistan, American officials tell the Associated Press. Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was killed Aug. 22, but officials would not report how he died. The same day a CIA drone strike was reported in Waziristan. Rahman rose to the No. 2 spot after bin Laden, with whom he was a close confidant, was killed in the U.S. raid in May. Rahman also once served as bin Laden's emissary to Iran. It’s another blow to the terrorist group, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has previously said is on the verge of defeat. Rahman is of Libyan decent and joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union. Rahman is of Libyan decent and joined bin Laden as a teenager in Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union.
[Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated that Panetta announced Rahman’s death. The news was reported to the Associated Press by unnamed American officials; Panetta had not publicly commented on the matter.]