In US, the Pentagon confirmed the death of a prominent al-Qaida leader who was targeted this week in a coalition airstrike in Syria. <br/><br/>Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said yesterday that a US strike killed Abu al-Farai al-Masri near Idlib on Monday. Cook called al-Masri's death a significant disruption to al-Qaida senior leadership and a blow to their ability to plot external attacks. <br/><br/>The Pentagon announced the strike shortly after it occurred Monday but took three days to verify that the target had been killed.