WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The missile strike in Pakistan by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) last week killed a senior al Qaeda bomb maker, ABC News reported Wednesday.

    The top al Qaeda bomb maker, who had a 5 million U.S. dollar reward on his head and was identified by Pakistani officials as Midhat Mursi, was one of men killed in the missile strike in eastern Pakistan, the news network reported.

    Mursi, 52, was one of three known al Qaeda leaders present at a meeting in the village of Damadola that was targeted in the missile attack late Thursday or early Friday, the report said.

    ABC News said authorities believed al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was also expected to attend but apparently changed his mind.

    At least 18 people, including women and children, were killed in the strike near the Afghan border, which prompted large protests in Pakistan over the weekend. Enditem