U.S. air strike kills high-ranking al Qaeda operational commander, U.S. military says

()ERBIL, Iraq - - A U.S. air strike in Afghanistan has killed a high-ranking al Qaeda operational commander, the Pentagon said on Friday. The Pentagon named the target of the strike as Abu Khalil al-Sudani, saying he was killed in a July 11 strike in the Bermal district of Afghanistan's Paktika province. In a statement, the Pentagon said he was head of al Qaeda "suicide and explosives operations" and was linked to external attack plotting against the United States. (Writing by Phillip Steward, editing by Larry King)