Miranshah (NWFP), Nov 20 : In what is being described as the first drone attack outside the tribal areas, six persons, including a major Arab Al Qaeda operative, in an overnight missile strike by a suspected US drone in Bannu district of NWFP.

A senior security official reportedly said that the suspected US drone attack came despite repeated warnings from Pakistan that such attacks were in violation of international law and Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Security sources identified the Al Qaeda terrorist who died in the attack as Abdullah Azam Al-Saudi, who they said US intelligence officials had identified as the main link between Al Qaeda’s senior command and Taliban networks in the Pakistani border region.

“He was the man co-ordinating between Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders on this side of the border, and also involved in recruiting and training fighters,” the Daily Times quoted an Islamabad-based senior security official as saying. (ANI)