Al Qaeda No. 2 killed in drone strike in Pakistan

In what U.S. officials described as a major blow to al Qaeda, the group's second-ranking leader, a militant known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, was killed in a strike by a missile fired from a U.S.-operated drone, an official confirmed Tuesday.

The official said the Libyan-born Libi, a cleric, was killed in a drone strike early morning Monday, Pakistan time.

Here are some facts about Libi:

* Abu Yahya al-Libi is the pseudonym of Mohamed Hassan Qaid, a Libyan chemistry graduate who traveled to Afghanistan in the late 1980s. There he joined the Libyan Fighting Group, who battled Soviet troops and sought to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

* Later he studied Islam in Mauritania before returning to Afghanistan. He used his religious credentials to justify acts of extreme violence and denigrate moderate Muslim scholars.

* He spoke Arabic, Pashto and Urdu and worked as a webmaster for the Taliban before Pakistani intelligence arrested him in 2002.

* In 2005, he escaped from Bagram, considered the most secure U.S. prison in Afghanistan, along with three cell mates. The dramatic escape was recounted by Libi later in propaganda videos.

* Libi was a top cleric and propaganda chief for al-Qaeda, releasing around 70 messages on behalf of the organisation.