The head of al-Qaeda in Pakistan and his lieutenant have been killed, US and Pakistan security sources confirmed today.

Usama al-Kini, al-Qaeda operations chief in Pakistan, and his lieutenant Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, were on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorism suspects. Believed to have been responsible for the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad last September, which killed 55 people, they died as a result of a US hellfire missile attack on a militant hideout in the South Waziristan tribal region on New Year's Day.

"These deaths are a significant near-term degradation of al-Qaeda's leadership," a US counter-terrorism official said. His comments echoed public remarks by Bush administration officials, who are increasingly confident that al-Qaeda's central command structure has been significantly weakened, despite the fact that the terrorist group’s top leaders - Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al Zawahri - remain at large.

Al-Kini was thought to be behind the attack on the Marriott Hotel, which was destroyed by a suicide bomber, as well as an attempted assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later killed during a political rally in December 2007.

Along with his deputy, he had been indicted for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the country in which both were born. They were also believed to have trained operatives to travel to the United States and Europe.

Pakistan said cooperation and sharing of information between US and Pakistani forces had helped to eliminate the pair.

“Al Kini was a key link between al Qaeda and Pakistani militants,” said a security official, adding that he may have also organised a suicide attack on the Danish embassy in Islambad last year.“ His death will be a serious blow to al Qaeda activities."

Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions of North and South Waziristan have become the main centre of al Qaeda and Taleban activities. The US has intensified Drone missile attacks in the area and, according to Pakistani and US officials, more than two dozen have taken place this year alone.

The US attacks have caused huge protests in Pakistan, but senior security officials privately admit that they have eliminated at least six senior al Qaeda operatives and scores of other militants.

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