Al Qaeda leaders killed in Pakistan's US drone attacks

The Al Qaeda has said that six of its leaders were killed during US drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, media reported Tuesday.

According to the Al Qaeda, the six leaders were killed in the July 10 drone strike that took place in the Doga Mada Khel village in Datta Khel area, the News International reported.

Datta Khel area is a well-known hub of the Al Qaeda, the Haqqani network, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Zil.

The head of the Al Qaeda committee on strategic planning and policy, Sanafi al-Nasr, who is based in Syria, confirmed via a social networking site that six members from the group were killed in the July 10 drone attack.

The six included Mustafa Abu Yazid, the chief operational commander of Al Qaeda and a close aide of Osama bin Laden, who had claimed responsibility for Benazir Bhutto's assassination in 2007 in Rawalpindi.

The Pakistan government has repeatedly condemned the US drone strikes, saying these were counter-productive and unacceptable as these violated the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The US drone strikes have been targeting militants in Pakistan since 2004.