World | al-Qaeda Drone Strike Kills Top al-Qaeda Operative Aslam Awan killed in Jan. 10 attack: official By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Jan 20, 2012 8:08 AM CST Copied In this Jan. 31, 2010 file photo an unmanned US Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File) A CIA drone strike in early January killed a key al-Qaeda operative who was planning attacks on the West, according to a US official. The official said yesterday that the strike on Jan. 10 hit Aslam Awan, who was described as an "external operations planner" inside the organization. The strike was one of the first after a hiatus of some six weeks, after a controversial friendly fire incident at the border in which US forces fired on Pakistani border outposts, killing 24 Pakistani troops in a case of mistaken identity. Read These Next Two state troopers were shot in Pennsylvania JD Vance in hot water over birthday boating trip. Kelly Clarkson's ex died a day after she disclosed he was ill. Trump is demanding a 'new' census. Report an error