Confirmed: Al-Qaeda's #2 Abu Yahya al-Libi killed in Pakistan

WASHINGTON/PESHAWAR (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed one of al Qaeda's most powerful figures, the U.S. government announced Tuesday, dealing the biggest in a series of blows to the militant group since the raid that killed founder Osama bin Laden last year.

Abu Yahya al-Libi, a veteran militant said to have been a leader of the group's operations, and who survived previous U.S. attacks, was killed in the drone strike early Monday morning on a hideout in North Waziristan in Pakistan's tribal areas, officials said.

The White House called Libi's death a "major blow" to al Qaeda, and claimed that it will be hard for the group to find someone of similar stature to replace him.

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