Death of deputy chief deals heavy blow to al-Qaida

LONDON - The killing of al-Qaida's number two leader deprives the group of a multi-talented manager who helped it spawn offshoots around the world and survive a US counter-terrorism campaign in Pakistan, security analysts say.

US officials said on Saturday that Atiyah abd al-Rahman, a Libyan, was killed in Pakistan. One official said he was killed in a strike by an unmanned drone on Aug 22.

The killing is likely to be particularly highly prized by Washington as US strategists would have been concerned about Rahman's potential influence in Libya's turmoil following the overthrow of Muammar Gadhafi, analysts say.