Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al-Qaida's top strategists and seen as the most prominent figure in the network after leader Ayman al Zawahri, may have been killed in a drone strike in Pakistan, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Tuesday.

If his death is confirmed it would be the biggest blow to al-Qaida since US special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in Pakistan in May 2011.

The CIA's drone campaign in Pakistan, stepped up under the administration of US President Barack Obama, has made the South Asian nation a perilous place for al-Qaida.