Abu Yahya al-Libi, who may have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan, made numerous appearances in propaganda videos
He is variously described as a propagandist, a theologian, an ideologue and an operations chief. None of these descriptions may be entirely accurate. He has been reported killed several times before.
Despite the fog of covert war that surrounds him, it is at least certain that Abu Yahya al-Libi – who may have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan on Monday – became one of the key targets for western intelligence services after the death of Osama bin Laden a year ago.
A Libyan whose real name is Mohamed Hassan Qaid, his profile was boosted by numerous appearances in al-Qaida propaganda videos. He trained as cleric in the western African state of Mauritania, and is known in militant circles for escaping from Bagram air force base in Afghanistan in 2005 after three years of imprisonment.
In his mid-40s, he is 15 years younger than the al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and some analysts have described Libi as a relatively youthful face in the battered organisation's senior command. He is, or was, we are told by US sources quoted by Reuters, al-Qaida's number two.
Atiyah Abdur Rahman, the extremely capable veteran militant who acted as chief of staff for Bin Laden in his final months, and then for Zawahiri, was killed in August last year. Libi is said to have succeeded him in that position. However, with al-Qaida's structure increasingly fragmented after the loss of so many senior and middle-ranking figures, it is difficult to assign any individual a clear position in a hierarchy.
What is clear is the difference between Libi and Rahman. The latter was a hardened operative who had seen at first hand the violent militant struggle in Algeria in the 1990s and travelled widely during the following decade as a personal envoy of Bin Laden. He was known and respected as a serious operator. Libi, despite his high profile, has never been regarded as anywhere near as capable, though some speak of an innate charisma.
Libi's death would be another blow to al-Qaida, but perhaps not of the magnitude some might like to claim.