WASHINGTON — A strike by an unmanned drone last week killed a senior commander of Al Qaeda who had played a significant role in planning the killing of Central Intelligence Agency operatives in late December at a base in Afghanistan, according to American officials.

 

The March 8 strike was one of a series aimed at suspected participants in the deadly attack in Khost Province, which took place just before a meeting with a militant who the Americans believed could provide information on Al Qaeda’s operations. Seven Americans and a Jordanian intelligence officer died in that attack.

According to a United States counterterrorism official, the Qaeda operative killed last week was Hussein al-Yemeni. The drone missile struck in Miram Shah in North Waziristan, a part of Pakistan where Al Qaeda is considered well dug in.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described Mr. Yemeni as an “Al Qaeda planner and facilitator” in his late 20s or early 30s, who had established ties with the Haqqani network, which has planned many Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, and with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. His role was described by one American official as a “conduit in Pakistan for funds, messages and recruits, but his real specialty was bombs and suicide operations.”