Zawahri not present during attack - official
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-01-14 09:18

But the CIA is also known to conduct operations along the Pakistan- Afghanistan border in the hunt for bin Laden and his deputies.

According to ABC, Zawahiri has been known to hide out in the village over the past 12 months.

A medical doctor, Zawahiri has become Al-Qaeda's most senior spokesman in videos released in recent months as bin Laden has kept a low profile.

He appeared in a new video released last week, leading some to believe that he has become the group's effective leader.

At least 18 people, including women and children, died as missiles struck the village of Mamund in Pakistan's northeastern Bajur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, residents said earlier.

Villagers said the missiles destroyed three houses, leaving five women, five children and eight men dead.

NBC said the toll in the village could reach 30 people.

One of the houses destroyed in the attack belonged to Gul Zaman, a member of an outlawed Islamic extremist group, villagers said.

Bajur borders Afghanistan's troubled Kunar province, where suspected Taliban rebels shot down a Chinook helicopter killing 16 US servicemen in June last year.

Pakistan has pushed around 70,000 soldiers into the tribal areas to flush out Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters who fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion in late 2001.

The United States has been offering a 25 million dollar reward for Zawahiri since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.