US: Terror leader dead

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida's third-in-command, whose role spanned from operations to fundraising, is believed to have been killed earlier this month in a United States missile strike in the tribal areas of Pakistan, officials said on Monday.

The CIA has stepped up the pace of unmanned drone strikes in the tribal zone bordering Afghanistan, targeting not only high-level al-Qaida and Taliban targets but largely unknown foot soldiers as well.

"In terms of counterterrorism, this would be a big victory," a US official said of the death of Sheikh Said al-Masri, also known as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid. Al-Masri was widely seen as al-Qaida's No. 3 figure and its main conduit to leader Osama bin Laden.