WASHINGTON, Feb 13: Despite reports that a missile fired by a CIA-operated Predator drone killed three civilians in Afghanistan, some US officials believe a top Al Qaeda finance director died in the attack last week, the Washington Times said on Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted a senior US official and a military source as saying one of the people hit was a senior member of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, citing intelligence analysts.

The military source said some intelligence analysts believe the man was an Al Qaeda financial director, the newspaper said.

The paper said the senior US official also said the man’s identity might not be confirmed by examination of the human remains US troops recovered from the site of the attack.

“We may never identify these remains,” said the official. The newspaper quoted the source as saying it was “too hard” to obtain DNA samples from relatives.

The Washington Post earlier reported that local villagers identified the three people killed as peasants who had gone to an area near Al Qaeda hideouts to collect scrap metal.

The Washington Times quoted its source as saying that intelligence analysts believe a senior Al Qaeda member was killed based on the person’s physical characteristics and “other intelligence”.—Reuters