A man described by counterterrorism officials as al Qaeda’s “military brain,” Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in a drone strike Friday night in Pakistan at 11:15 p.m. Friday. The US drone attack targeted a compound in the Ghwakhwa area of South Waziristan, a Taliban stronghold.

The statement came from Harakat-ul-Jihad-Islami spokesman Abu Hanzla Kashar.

Ilyas Kashmiri was considered a possible successor to Osama Bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda.

UPDATE: Hakimullah Mehsud was not killed in a U.S. drone attack on Thursday.

THU JAN 14 2010 — Pre-dawn attack U.S. drone attack in Shaktoi area triggered rumours that Hakimullah Mehsud, the chief of the banned Tahrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, had been killed. Two missiles had hit the house of Fazal Mehsud alias Uqabi in the area in Sararogha subdivision adjacent to North Waziristan.

Wikipedia: Hakimullah Mehsud | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan | Waziristan

SOURCE: DAWN.COM US drone targets Hakimullah Mehsud

A U.S. drone killed four militants Sunday after it fired two missiles into a compound in Miranshah, located in a lawless tribal region of North Waziristan in northwest Pakistan. The drone was the sixth attack in the area since the new year 2010.

SOURCE: Chinaview Suspected U.S. drone strike kills 4 in Pakistan

Wikipedia: Miranshah | Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) | North Waziristan | Waziristan | Pakistan

Deadliest UAV missile strike since the suicide bombing at FOB Chapman in Afghanistan that killed eight people — including seven CIA agents: 20 to 25 killed in the Village of Sanzalai, Pakistan where a base is located for the Taliban network run by Sirajuddin Haqqani. The area borders Paktika Province in Afghanistan.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia: Miranshah | Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) | North Waziristan | Waziristan | Pakistan | Sirajuddin Haqqani | Paktika Province

SOURCE: New York Times Drone Strikes Reported in Pakistan