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THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: Zawahri missed dinner that prompted US strike

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Zawahri missed dinner that prompted US strike

A dinner invitation to al Qaeda's second-in-command triggered a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan but Ayman al-Zawahri failed to show up, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Sunday.

The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that foreigners had been near the village of Damadola in the Bajaur region bordering Afghanistan and were the probable target.

Pakistani intelligence officials said they were checking reports up to seven foreign militants had been killed and their bodies removed by local supporters. But they said there were no indications Osama bin Laden's deputy, Zawahri, was there.

"He was invited for the dinner, but we have no evidence he was present," a senior intelligence official told Reuters.

Al Arabiya television quoted a source it said had contact with al Qaeda saying Zawahri was alive.

The U.S. government has not commented, but U.S. sources familiar with the operation said it was too early to determine his fate and the remains of the dead would have to be examined.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the airstrike was based on "very good" intelligence indicating Zawahri was at the targeted location.

Another Pakistani intelligence official said two local Islamist clerics, known for harboring al Qaeda militants, had attended the dinner but left hours before the airstrike at 3.00 a.m. (2200 GMT).

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