US drone attack kills Al Qaeda men in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 22 (IANS) The Al Qaeda has said that six of its leaders were killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, the media reported Tuesday.

According to the Al Qaeda, the six were killed July 10 in Doga Mada Khel village in Datta Khel area, the News International reported.

Datta Khel is a known hub of the Al Qaeda, the Haqqani network, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Zil.

The head of the Al Qaeda committee on strategic planning and policy, Sanafi al-Nasr, who is based in Syria, confirmed via a social networking site that the six were killed.

The six included Mustafa Abu Yazid, chief operational commander of Al Qaeda and a close aide of Osama bin Laden who had claimed responsibility for Benazir Bhutto's assassination in 2007 in Rawalpindi.

The Pakistan government has repeatedly condemned the US drone strikes, saying these are counter-productive and unacceptable as these violated the country's sovereignty.

US drones have targeted militants in Pakistan since 2004.