Pentagon says a US counterterrorism airstrike earlier this month in Afghanistan killed an al-Qaeda leader responsible for a deadly hotel attack in Islamabad in 2008 and the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team. In a statement last night, US defence officials confirmed the death of Qari Yasin.<br/><br/>Officials say Yasin was a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, had ties to the group Tehrik-e Taliban and plotted multiple al-Qaeda terror attacks. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Yasin's death is evidence that terrorists, who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice.