DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan— A recent U.S. missile strike in Pakistan killed one of the FBI's most-wanted terrorists, a man suspected in a 1986 plane hijacking with a $5 million bounty on his head, three Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday.
The death would be the latest victory for the CIA-led missile campaign on militant targets in Pakistan's tribal region, which has rapidly escalated in the past two weeks. One Thursday is believed to have missed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud. Militants on Friday released an audio recording of Mehsud denying his death, but it never referred specifically to the strike.
The intelligence officials said a missile strike on Jan. 9 killed Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim. The FBI's Web site lists him as a Palestinian with possible Lebanese citizenship. The Pakistani officials called him an al-Qaida member, but the FBI site says he was a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist group.
According to the FBI site, Rahim is wanted for his alleged role in the Sept. 5, 1986, hijacking of Pan American World Airways Flight 73 during a stop in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. Some 20 passengers and crew, including two American citizens, were killed during the attack.
The three intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they lacked authority to speak to media on the record. They cited field informants and sources in militant ranks.
The information is nearly impossible to verify independently because access to the area is limited.
The U.S., meanwhile, kept up an unprecedented surge in its use of the missiles, sending four more Friday to level a house and kill three people in North Waziristan tribal region. It was the ninth such strike in the area in about two weeks.
North Waziristan is considered a key sanctuary for a range of militant groups, including al-Qaida-linked ones focused on battling the U.S. in Afghanistan. Pakistan is under U.S. pressure to mount an offensive in the region. (AP)