Abdullah Said al Libi explained

Abdullah Said al-Libi
Death Place:	Pakistan
Nationality:	Libyan
Other Names:	Abdallah Sa'id

Abdullah Said al-Libi (died 17 December 2009) was described as being an al Qaeda operational leader in Pakistan.^[1] ^[2] He is reported to have previously served in the Libyan military. He led an al-Qaeda paramilitary force.^[3] Said al-Libi was killed in a drone strike on 17 December 2009 in North Waziristan. In April 2009 he had released a statement where he identified himself as the leader of al Qaeda's efforts to take control of Khorasan - an ancient Islamic province that included Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some neighboring areas.

According to Joby Warrick, the author of The Triple Agent, al Libi had lived with Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who would later convince Central Intelligence Agency officers that he was their double agent within al Qaeda, only to detonate a suicide bomb, killing several of them.^[3] His suicide bombing is said to have been in retaliation for the killing of al Libi, Abu Saleh al Somali and Baitullah Mehsud.

Notes and References

News: Evolving US strategy widens assault on terrorists . . 2010-02-12 . Matt Apuzzo . https://web.archive.org/web/20100217040657/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g6KkslX8iLPH1UZnvja-rZVQAF4gD9DQMEO00 . 2010-02-17 . Senior al-Qaida operatives Saleh al-Somali and Abdallah Sa'id were killed in airstrikes in December. . dead.
News: What the partisan squabbles miss on Obama's terror response . . 2010-02-17 . David Ignatius . David Ignatius . https://web.archive.org/web/20121110035629/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/16/AR2010021605043.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 . 2012-11-10 . These raids have ravaged the top tier of al-Qaeda's lieutenants. The victims include Saleh al-Somali, the chief of external operations, who was killed Dec. 8; Abdullah Said al-Libi, the chief of operations in Pakistan, who was killed Dec. 17; and Tahir Yuldashev, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who was killed in August. . dead.
Book: Warrick, Joby . The Triple Agent . Joby Warrick . 2012 . . New York . 90–91, 154, 157, 187 . 9780307742315 .