Pakistan: Al-Qaeda commander killed in US strike

US missiles are believed to have killed an al-Qaeda operations chief and a top Uzbek militant in northwest Pakistan, officials said Thursday, the latest apparent victories for the covert and controversial American program.

If their deaths are confirmed, Ilyas Kashmiri and Nazimuddin, alias Yahyo, would be two of several militant leaders killed in Pakistan by missiles fired by unmanned US drones.

Just last month, a similar strike killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Pakistan's government publicly condemns the strikes, saying they fan anti-Americanism among its citizens and violate its sovereignty. But many observers believe Islamabad secretly endorses the program.

Operations chief Kashmiri, a Pakistani national, was believed killed in a Sept. 7 attack on a compound in North Waziristan, said a Pakistani intelligence officer and a senior government official.

A strike in the same region on Sept. 14 that destroyed a vehicle is believed to have killed Nazimuddin, the officials said.

North Waziristan is part of Pakistan's tribal belt, a lawless region where al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri are rumored to be hiding.

The Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media about the topic. They said the information was based on intercepted communications between militants and from informants in their ranks.