( dpa )- Al-Qaeda's top figure in Afghanistan vowed in a video released Wednesday to avenge the killing of a top commander in an apparent US missile strike.
Abu Laith al- Libi , a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, died January 28 in a missile strike in Pakistan's remote North Waziristan region. He specialized in guerilla warfare and was responsible for organizing attacks against US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The al-Qaeda video was posted on the internet and transcribed by IntelCenter , a private firm outside Washington that monitors terrorist activities on the web. Emir Mustafa Abu al- Yazid said al- Libi was a martyr and has a generation of young followers.
"They will avenge him and realize his aspirations and hopes, Allah permitting," al- Yazid said.
The US government has refused to publicly discuss the circumstances surrounding al- Libi's death. The Pentagon lists al- Libi's age at 41.