By DPA
Washington : The US military is still trying to determine whether Al Qaeda's top operative in Afghanistan was killed in an airstrike over the weekend that left seven children dead.
NATO forces launched an air attack on a building complex that included a mosque and religious school in eastern Afghanistan Sunday after receiving intelligence that Al Qaeda combatants were hiding there.
Colonel Martin Schweitzer, commander of 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade in Afghanistan, told reporters Wednesday it had not yet been determined whether top Al Qaeda operative Abu Laith al-Libi was killed.
"As sure as we confirm whether it was or wasn't, I'm positive that the community at large will know," Schweitzer said. "But right now, we do not know that answer."
Schweitzer said forensic tests were being conducted to determine if al-Libi is among those killed in the strike.
The US military has expressed regret over the loss of innocent life in the air raid but blamed Al Qaeda for using civilians as a shield against attacks.
Schweitzer said US forces had no indication there were children present prior to the assault.