WASHINGTON — An al Qaida militant suspected of playing a key role in a suicide bombing at a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan died last week in Pakistan, apparently in a retaliatory missile strike by a CIA drone, a U.S. counterterrorism official said Wednesday.

The death of Hussein al Yemeni was the latest blow to al Qaida's leadership from stepped up U.S. drone attacks inside Pakistan's tribal area following the Dec. 30 suicide bombing.

Four CIA officers, three agency security guards and a senior Jordanian intelligence officer died in the suicide bombing at a top-secret CIA facility in Khost, Afghanistan. The bombing was carried out by a Jordanian double agent recruited to spy on al Qaida and was a huge embarrassment to the CIA. » read more

SARGODHA, Pakistan — Five American students caught in Pakistan last year were charged Wednesday with terrorism-related offenses, and they'll face a full trial and the prospect of a jail sentence. The men alleged that Pakistani police had tortured them.

The men, all Muslims from 18 to 24 years old from the Washington suburbs, were arrested in the central Pakistani town of Sargodha in December. They'd traveled to Pakistan after making contact with an Islamic extremist over the Internet.

The case fueled fears in Pakistan that radicalized Americans were now travelling to South Asia or the Middle East to receive terrorist training. » read more

MARJAH, Afghanistan — U.S. Marine Sgt. Brad Vandehei stood on the edge of the small opium poppy field that serves as a central helicopter landing zone for the new military compound that's rising nearby.

"Those are poppies, sir?" Vandehei, 25, of Green Bay, Wis., asked Maj. David Fennell as they gazed at the spiked young plants that should be ready for harvest next month. "Let's burn it down, sir."

Fennell was scoping things out for another reason, however: That morning, the poppy farmer turned up with a dozen neighbors to complain about the Marines transforming his lucrative field into a rural helipad. » read more

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Two weeks after the U.S.-led forces swiftly seized control of this long-standing insurgent stronghold, Taliban forces are posing a new threat by menacing, beating and even beheading local residents who cooperate with the emerging Afghan government, according to Afghan and American officials.

Unable to confront the U.S. military directly with any serious challenge, Taliban fighters are shifting tactics as they try to undermine the American-backed Afghan government before it can win the trust of these southern Afghanistan residents, who've lived under insurgent rule for years.

While the incidents so far appear to be isolated, American military leaders warned Sunday that they must contain the threat before it gains any momentum. » read more