Kevin Dowling and Times Online
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The suspected British mastermind behind the 2006 al Qaeda plot to blow up 10 trans-Atlantic passenger jets with liquid explosives has been killed in a US missile strike, according to reports in Pakistan.
Had it succeeded, the plot could have killed on the scale of the September 11 attacks, and it resulted in tighter controls on hand luggage carried by passengers worldwide.
Rashid Rauf, originally from Birmingham, is believed to have been killed along with at least four other militants with links to al Qaeda by an unmanned US drone plane before dawn in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan.
Intelligence officers in northwest Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rauf had been killed, though there was no official confirmation.
They named another of the dead as Egyptian Abu Zubair al-Masri. Arab casualties in the region are usually taken as a sign of an al Qaeda presence.
The missile strike said to have killed him targeted a house near the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, and came just two days after Pakistan lodged a protest with the US ambassador over missile attacks on its territory.
Villages around Mir Ali have been targeted before and have been a hive of Taliban and al Qaeda activity in the past.
“According to our information two missiles were fired by the drone on a house,” an intelligence officer in the region said.
“We have confirmed reports of five people killed and six injured,” another intelligence official said.
Missile-armed drones are primarily used by US forces in the region. The United States seldom confirms drone attacks. Pakistan does not have any combat drones.
Rauf, who is thought to be in his mid-20s, is wanted by West Midlands Police over the 2002 murder of his uncle.
Earlier this year, the West Midlands force confirmed that it was liaising with both the Home Office and the Foreign Office in respect of his extradition.
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I can not understand the politicians who are against the removal from this planet of these murdering thugs
B Adamson, MARBELLA, SPAIN
Yes !!!
Lets have more of these Pakistan resident British terrorists killed as well !!
Well done the USA !!!
Dave, Lincoln,
I'm disappointed to see this "Gotcha" type mentality here.
Doesn't anybody believe that these US drones are unlawful killings of people who have not stood trial or been found guilty of anything.
Morever, many innocents get killed by these strikes - helping Al Qaida recruitment globally.
richard mullens, London, Europe
Good riddance. Well done !
Chris, London,
Why do people continue to call these people British? He may have been born here but you are only British if you accept British Culture as your own. He clearly didn't and wanted an Islamic Culture here instead. He was as Lord Tebbit wrote "a foreigner in their own land of birth".
Well done USA!
Marcus, London, England
So what, this person, wanted to kill us all. the sooner we all realise the threat the better, he is no more British than the Australian rugby team want to have babies with us
jimbob, yorkshire, uk
Following the billions spent there, a result...on the other hand they could have sneaked up on him in Safeways and saved a fortune.
Ernesto Forchetto, Gijon, Spain
And Izhar, what definitely makes him not British is his apparent desire to kill as many of the British people and our allies as possible. He's technically British maybe, but his actions suggest he simply doesn't deserve to join those of us who treasure our democracy, our way of life, our heritage.
pete, San Francisco, USA
Thank you America.One small step for mankind.
Next please.!!!!!
Pat, Brisbane, Australia
Wow, we actually got something other than a wedding party or an aspirin factory. And it only cost us a trillion dollars a year or $3,333 for every man, woman and child in America. Sure beats having health insurance.
tsm, Los Angeles,
Hurrah! Round of applause for the United States is in order. Encore!
Jonathan, London, UK
BH from Birmingham, what makes him British is that he was born in Birmingham.
Izhar, aberdeen , uk
Thank you America - again.
Marty, London,
Bravo Yanks! Good Shot!
Dave, Portsmouth,
You're welcome.
Sam, Akron Ohio, USA
Nice one
Saves lining the pockets of Lawyers in UK on a trial.
Dave Madley, Alicante, Spain
Excellent news.
More please...
Anthony Lester, Brum,
Nice to have a bit of good news for a change.
Anthony Price, Truro, Cornwall, UK
What makes him British? He was a Pakistani Muslim who hated the West who just happened to live here.
He didn't consider himself British. And the rest that don't should leave too.
BH, Birmingham,
Exelent News!
Dean, Southampton, England