US Drone Strike killed Al-Qaida's Second-in-Command Abu Yahya al-Libi

A US drone strike in northwest Pakistan killed al-Qaida's second-in-command Abu Yahya al-Libi on 5 June 2012. The killing of al-Libi is the most significant victory for the US forces since the death of Osama bin Laden.

The Libyan-born al-Libi was considered charismatic leader with religious credentials who was helping preside over the transformation of a secretive group based in Pakistan and Afghanistan into a global movement.

Earlier the US had captured al-Libi a decade ago but he managed to flee from the US’ captivity in 2005 in an embarrassing security breach. He was a regular in Al Qaeda videos in which he talked about the lessons he learned while watching his captors, whom he described as cowardly, lost and alienated.

Al-Libi was promoted to al-Qaida's No. 2 spot after Ayman al-Zawahri replaced bin Laden as al-Qaida’s topmost leader. As al-Qaida's no. 2, he was responsible for running the group's day-to-day operations in Pakistan's tribal areas and managed outreach to al-Qaida's regional affiliates. He was influential and popular within al-Qaida given his scholarly credentials, street cred from having escaped from Bagram, charisma and his easygoing, tribal speaking style.