U.S. strike in Pakistan kills British militant

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Rashid Rauf, a British militant with al Qaeda links, was killed along with an Egyptian by a suspected U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistani television channels and intelligence officers said.

Rauf, the suspected ringleader of a 2006 plot to blow up trans-atlantic airliners using liquid explosives, was among five victims of an attack believed to have been launched by a U.S. pilotless drone aircraft in the North Waziristan tribal region.

The plot, which was uncovered with the help of Pakistani intelligence, had the potential to kill on the scale of the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks and resulted in tighter controls on cabin luggage hand-carried on board by air passengers worldwide.

Intelligence officers in northwest Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Rauf, who escaped from custody after appearing in an Islamabad court last December, had been killed, though there was no official confirmation.

They named the dead Egyptian as Abu Zubair al-Masri. Arab casualties are usually taken as a sign of an al Qaeda presence.

Several Pakistani news channels also reported the death of the 27-year-old Rauf and his Egyptian cohort.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are investigating the reports."

Taliban spokesman Ahmedullah Ahmedi issued a statement in North Waziristan saying all those killed in the missile strike were locals and vowed revenge would be taken on the government outside tribal lands.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said he will be visiting Pakistan next week, though the exact dates have been withheld for security reasons.